False
by Zoni
Summary: The Shikon no Tama is a fake. As the group deals with this new information, Naraku becomes an even greater danger than he had been before. Inu/San, Inu/Kag, Inu/Kik, Mir/San - ON HIATUS
1. Chapter One

**False_  
_**_By Zoni_

Flying across the ground, Inuyasha took each section of forest in leaping bounds. Smirking, he could see that Sango was almost able to keep pace with him, even with the dense foliage. The taijiya gave him an encouraging nod and leaped into the air. Even from this distance, Inuyasha was able to see and smell the spider youkai. It was a giant by normal standards and it was certainly larger than anything that they had encountered before. Kagome had been right - it must have a huge Shikon shard. Everyone else was already busy trying to take it down, bit by bit. Miroku and Shippou were handling the hatchlings that had crawled off the monster the instant that they had started attacking it. Kagome was easily visible on the other side of the clearing. The sight of her notching another arrow bolstered Inuyasha's confidence as he sailed through the air and landed next to her. "Oi. Let's get this over with. Where's the shard?"

"Right in the middle of his back." Kagome was smiling, equally confident. "Right where the bald patch is. Pull the shard out and I'll finish him."

"Keh, piece of cake." Inuyasha sprung forward. He let out a barking laugh as he landed on the spider's head and got a screech in response when he used it for a spring board. Aiming straight for the bald spot, the hanyou stuck a single clawed hand out in front of him. Flexing his fingers, he felt his claws sink easily into the flesh as he ripped out a handful of skin and tissue. He could see the shard sticking out of the lump. He'd done it. Sitting back on his haunches, Inuyasha launched himself back into the air just in time to watch Hiraikotsu tear a huge trough into the spider's back. Immediately following it, the faint pink glow of Kagome's holy arrow tore through the remaining abdomen and the entire body began to dissolve into a pile of liquid and organs. Landing carefully on the ground, Inuyasha picked the little pieces of youkai off of the shard. One by one, each of his companions gathered in the center of the clearing. Inuyasha handed the dark piece of the jewel over to Kagome, who smiled contentedly as the large fragment slowly leeched back to a healthier pink color. Popping the cork out of the little bottle that she kept the other shards in, Kagome dropped the new one in to join its friends and then held the bottle up for everyone to get a good look at.

"Oh my goodness." Sango was the one who noticed it first. The bottom of the bottle was full and, with this new piece being added to the rest, it wouldn't be long now. The jewel was almost complete. Shippou let out a little cheer. Everyone was completely elated. This had been a good fight. Now, after three years, it seemed like the end might finally be in sight.

)(*)(

Even dinner that night seemed to taste better than usual. Kagome had caved to Inuyasha's request for ramen. She had even gone to the trouble of going to retrieve goodies from her time for the rest of the group. Kaede's house was close and they had decided to visit and take a break for a couple of days. The small wooden building was now filled with the sounds of happy chatter as they each discussed where they thought the last of the shards might be. None of them had realized that they had collected so many shards. The shock of that realization was still wearing off. It just hadn't registered that they were this close. Miroku had even gone so far as to venture that there might only be six or seven shards to go, including the ones in the possession of people they knew. When discussing shards, they never seemed to include Kouga or Kohaku in their count. The shards that Naraku had possessed had been retrieved, for the most part. It was likely that he still had one or two. The last fight with him had been costly, but they had been surprised by the fact that they had managed to make off with most of the shards he had in his possession.

Now, with a quiet evening ahead of them, everyone was preparing to bed down and get some well deserved rest. Shippou had already fallen asleep. Miroku and Sango had started their usual evening quarrel. The sound of Sango's hand connecting with Miroku's cheek echoed through the building with clarity. Kirara mewled quietly as she stared at the crackling remnants of the fire. These were the sounds of life that they had all become used to in their shared travels.

For his part, Inuyasha was preoccupied with the thoughts that were running through his mind. They didn't have much longer. Just a little more to go and they would be able to kill Naraku and all of this would be over. It had been three years that they had been chasing after shards and phantoms. Inuyasha watched the others in his family of friends settle down for the night and tried to remember all of the past three years. Even though he didn't want to, he thought of Kikyo. Pain shot through his heart at just the thought of her but it was a different pain than it had been. It was no longer the sharp, stabbing pain of betrayal and lost love. This was the slow, dull ache of regret that reverberated through him. His life now was completely different than it would have been if Kikyo had not sealed him to that tree. Some part of him would always wonder what life would have been like if he had been able to go ahead and do what he had promised. He would have become human for her. He wanted to become human for her.

Inuyasha's eyes drifted to Kagome. Unrolling her sleeping bag, she was setting up her sleeping space in the corner. With Kagome, he didn't need to be human. That desire to become human just wasn't there. Even so, on nights like this, when they had a good meal and an even better fight behind them, he had to wonder what would happen when all of it was actually over. For Sango and Miroku, it was obvious. Sango had never wanted anything other than to rebuild her village. And the monk_ had_ proposed, after all. The fact that Sango had accepted was still a bit of a surprise, as Inuyasha had never thought that Sango would take Miroku seriously. But, in his opinion, if that was what Sango wanted... They undoubtedly had a long life together ahead of them. Child or not, Shippou had been living alone when they met him. Whether he would go back to living like that was anyone's guess. He might go with Sango and Miroku. The thought that he might want to stay with Inuyasha had crossed the hanyou's mind, but Inuyasha couldn't even imagine a future for himself. Especially not one without Kagome. He had no doubts that she would leave. Why else would she continue going back to her school whenever she got the chance?

Kagome sat down beside him, wide eyed and smiling. "Yes?"

"What?" Inuyasha blinked.

"You said my name," she responded, leaning up against him.

"Oh," he said. He hadn't realized that he was speaking aloud. "It's nothing."

Kagome rested her head on his shoulder. Inuyasha looked down at her, arching an eyebrow. They were frequently close but she rarely actually leaned herself up against him as she was doing now. Maybe the fact that they were now the only ones awake in the house had made the difference. Quietly, almost hesitantly, Kagome asked "Say, Inuyasha, what will you do when all of this is over? When the jewel is complete, I mean." It was as if she had read his mind. Inuyasha's thoughts quickly drifted back to where they had been only a few minutes before. He ignored that.

"Keh," he snorted. His body stiffened in response to the question. "I'll use the jewel to become a full youkai. That's obvious." The response sounded insincere at best. It had been automatic. Inuyasha glanced down at Kagome's face again and found her expression to be almost unreadable. There was just a hint of sadness in the tilt of her mouth. She wasn't looking at him. Worried, he asked, "O... oi. You're not crying, are you?" Inuyasha turned slightly, putting a hand on her shoulder. He tried to get her to look at him.

"I'm not crying." Lifting her head from his shoulder, Kagome leaned away from him. After a few minutes of silence, her voice became even quieter than it had been before. "Will you go look for her?"

"No." The hanyou didn't bother asking who she means. It was true that he had loved Kikyo. That reality had been something that he had been at war with for the past three years. Even with everything that she had meant to him, he knew the truth. Kikyo was dead to him. She had been for some time now. All that remained of her memories, even if they walked around on two feet. He looked up to find Kagome watching him. Gold eyes met brown ones and he said "I... don't want her anymore."

Kagome moved so that she was facing him. She seemed to be a lot closer than she had been before, even though they were no longer touching. From this angle it was impossible to ignore the warmth of her brown eyes even as she bit her lip and looked away from him. "Inuyasha..."

"What is it?"

"I was wondering, when this is all over... would you consider... staying with me?"

Whatever Inuyasha had been expecting, that wasn't it. Taken completely off guard, he asked "What do you mean?"

Even as he asked, Inuyasha knew what she meant. The hanyou just wasn't certain that he had heard her right. Inuyasha had given up long ago on fighting his feelings for Kagome. He loved her. She was the reason he kept fighting. He felt more thankful for her presence with every day that passed. Imagining a life without her in it was completely impossible for him. At the same time, he had never expected her to return those feelings. Even if she had, she had another life in her own world. He knew she cared for him, he just didn't think she cared enough to stay. Inuyasha watched her, carefully.

"Well, we've been through a lot, Inuyasha, and it's just..." Kagome leaned back slightly and went silent. After a moment, she turned her head back to face him. "I love you."

"Kagome," breathing her name, Inuyasha reached out and pulled Kagome into a tight hug. The embrace was deep and heartfelt. The relief and elation that he felt at the declaration took him completely off guard, even more so than her question. They had always been close. They had kissed. However, neither of them had ever said it out loud. He felt the doubt in his mind washing away. The feeling that came over him at hearing those words was the closest thing he had ever felt to joy.

Kagome, equally elated, pulled back from the tight hug. Her face was flushed red and seemed to be glowing. "Is that a yes?"

The last two times that they had kissed, it had always been Kagome that had started it. This time, Inuyasha leaned forward to capture he mouth with his. She stiffened in response and then slowly leaned into him. Reaching forward, Inuyasha pulled Kagome closer to him, attempting to solve the problem of the awkward position that they had found themselves in. Kagome, surprised by the movement, let out a squeaking sound and tried but failed to keep her balance at the sudden forward movement. The two of them tumbled backwards onto the wooden floor. The result found Inuyasha pinned to the ground underneath Kagome, with her legs positioned on either side of his hips. Inuyasha laughed at the shocked look on Kagome's face and leaned up to kiss her again.

Miroku coughed politely. He had woken up when Sango had returned from a walk after an argument, and was now gazing at the two of them with amused interest. Sango, however, ignored them entirely and went to lay down. Flustered, Inuyasha blushed deeply as Miroku chuckled when Kagome seemed to realize just how they must look laying on the ground like that. Sitting up a bit straighter, Kagome quickly readjusted her skirt, which was hiked up a bit higher than it probably should have been and then swung her legs over Inuyasha so that she was sitting beside him. She smiled sheepishly at Inuyasha. The hanyou settled back against the wall and pulled her up against his chest.

"I-Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed in protest, wriggling against his hold. "You pervert!"

He didn't worry about the looks Miroku was probably giving him, or whether or not Kagome was about to Osuwari him to death. He just buried his face in Kagome's hair. He smiled against her neck and said "I'll stay with you."

Tomorrow would be a wonderful day.

**)(~)(  
**_Author's Note:_ Thank you, again, FFN! Our beloved literary host decided that it would be appropriate to remove all of the formatting from all of my fanfiction, so I am having to go through and redo all of it. If you are a new reader of False - welcome to my fic! I hope you enjoy this adventure as it unfolds! If you're a returning reader - please bear with me as I get the fic looking like it should. I am also going through and spell checking/typo-fixing the entire story.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Sunlight poured in through an open window, waking Inuyasha a little at a time. First, he heard the vague sound of whispering around him as his companions packed their things in preparation for continuing their journey. Next, he noticed that his entire body felt cramped, as if he had slept in a strange position. Inuyasha moved little more than an inch before his eyes flew open. Sitting in his lap was Kagome, curled up against him with her head resting on his chest. Her soft hair brushed up against his chin and one of her arms was wrapped around his waist. She had fallen asleep after their talk the night before, still seated in his lap. He would have noticed how nice she looked with the early morning light hitting her hair the way it was, but he felt embarrassed and flustered. His reaction wasn't helped by the fact that he could now hear very clear laughter coming from no more than ten feet away.

Shippou stood on tip toe, whispering into Miroku's ear. The monk was still seated, his legs carefully crossed, and he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying whatever it was that the fox cub was telling him. He nodded and smiled. Inuyasha shot him a warning glare and considered commenting. Instead, he decided to focus on a more immediate problem. As much as he loved having Kagome pressed up against him like that, he knew that she would probably rather be woken up than have Miroku speculating about their current situation. Unsure of of the best way to wake her up, Inuyasha decided to shake her shoulders lightly. Kagome groaned in her sleep and bit her lip before her brown eyes finally blinked open.

"You fell asleep," Inuyasha offered as she started to become aware of exactly where she had woken up. Whatever Kagome's feelings last night, she was clearly taken aback by this current situation. Squeaking loudly, she hopped out of Inuyasha's lap. Standing for a moment, she tried to get her bearings. Inuyasha visibly tensed as she proceeded to debate whether or not to osuwari him for the position in which she had woken up. The miko decided against it and turned to hurry over to her backpack, stuffing her things into it.

)(*)(

As the morning progressed it became clear that neither Shippou nor Miroku had any intention of letting Inuyasha or Kagome forget about how they had woken up. The teasing and off-color jokes didn't bother Inuyasha, but they seemed to have an effect on Kagome. Normally staying close to Inuyasha, she had snapped loudly at Miroku and promptly relegated herself to staying a safe distance away from him. The heat made a fantastic excuse. Everyone left ample space between themselves and everyone else; it was the middle of the summer and they were all sweating. The last thing any of them wanted was close contact. By the time that midday hit it was all that they could do just to keep going.

"Perhaps we should stop for a while," Miroku said. They had paused beneath a group of trees, enjoying the shade that was providing a momentary escape from the sun. "This heat will make us sick if we try to push ourselves."

"Houshi-sama is right," Sango sighed, sitting down and leaning up against one of the tree trunks. "We can get some more distance tonight, but it would be foolish to keep going right now."

"Keh," Inuyasha snorted. His annoyance was definitely not going to help in this situation and he knew it. All he wanted to do was keep looking for the last few shards. They were so close to having all of them. Kagome's sudden change of attitude from last night was not helping his mood, either. He glanced in her direction. She watched him, smiling, but it wasn't the warm, open smiles that she had given him last night. He'd kill that monk for making her uncomfortable with his damn perverted jokes. He found himself slightly surprised that Kagome hadn't dealt Miroku any damage. Sango must have taken care of that for her. "And where do you think we're going to stop, eh? There's not a village around here for miles."

"No, there's not." Kagome had gotten to her feet and came over to Inuyasha. "But we did cross a river not too far back. I'd love a chance to cool off. Wouldn't you, Sango-chan?"

"Hai," Sango looked directly at Inuyasha. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

"I concur," Miroku added cheerfully. There was a cracking sound as Hiraikotsu hit him soundly on the head maneuvered by the taijiya sitting on the ground beside it.

"Please, Inuyasha?" Kagome smiled tentatively at the hanyou and moved to take his hand. Giving it a squeeze, she leaned against him for a moment. Inuyasha looked around at his companions. He didn't care about a little bit of heat but the rest of them looked exhausted. He sighed in defeat.

"Fine."

"Thank you, Inuyasha." Kagome gave his hand another squeeze. "Shall we get going?"

)(*)(

Rivers in feudal Japan were so different from how they were in the modern world. Kagome sighed happily as the cool, clear water rushed over her skin and washed all of the sweat away. There was no real pollution, no chemicals. It was just the fresh, clean water rushing through the rivers and into pools like the one they were in. They'd come across rivers where metal workers or war had tainted the flow but this particular find was close to heaven. She ducked under the water and rose back out, enjoying the feeling of the cold liquid over the scalp. Sango had managed to find this pool at the base of a hill. It was lined with huge, flat rocks and was bordered by a pebble-covered beach. The hill above was thickly forested and Inuyasha, Miroku and Shippou had agreed to make camp on the top of it while the girls cooled off for a little while.

"Hey, Sango-chan..." Kagome moved into shallower water, closer to where Sango was sitting on a rock and was running her fingers through her hair. "Miroku-sama really got out of line last night. You've been so quiet since then... are you okay?"

Sango looked up, watching several small fish swim away through the water. "Yes, I think so." Sango knew that Kagome was worried about her. She was also certain that Kagome hadn't been aware of exactly how out of line Miroku's commentary had gotten. It had been to the point that Sango had decided to go for a long walk instead of waiting to see if he pushed his luck further. The monk had almost had his hand inside of her yukata that time. She had agreed to marry him, yes. To live with him and have his children. However, she had not wanted to act on that until the fight against Naraku had ended. Neither of them could afford that. The more time that passed, Sango had to wonder why she had agreed in the first place.

Kagome watched the taijiya for a moment. Sango was avoiding her and she didn't think that was likely to change. Whatever was bothering Sango, Kagome reasoned, there had to be something that she could do to help. She debated how best to do this but her charitable thoughts were cut off as Sango spoke up, "Are you and Inuyasha finally making some progress?" Kagome felt her face flush red as Sango continued, "I couldn't help but notice your new sleeping arrangements."

Warring with two emotions, Kagome couldn't decide whether to be embarrassed or excited as she proceeded to spill the news. "Last night, I decided to ask Inuyasha something."

Sango raised an eyebrow and moved into deeper water. "Oh?"

"I asked him if he would stay with me," Kagome was grinning now, her natural enthusiasm for romance of any sort shining through. "When all of this is over, I mean. And he said yes!"

"I'm glad for you," Sango replied. In truth, she felt slightly envious of Kagome's joy over the entire situation. Sango was conflicted over her own relationships. It seemed that being able to be so confident in the person you were with would have been a welcomed change. She had little confidence in Miroku, and the monk had done much to destroy what little she did have over the past few weeks. Unable to avoid Kagome's infectiously female need for gab, Sango asked quietly, "Kagome-chan... do you remember that town we stopped in last week, the one with the rats?"

"Of course." It would have been impossible to forget. The entire village had been completely overrun by rodent youkai. It had taken them the better part of three days to get rid of all of them and that was before they'd taken care of the biggest one. "Why?"

"The last night that we were there, after we had finished with everything, we all turned in and went to sleep," Sango started. She looked up at her young friend and found that Kagome watched her intently. Sango appreciated the fact that Kagome was actually listening to what she had to say. "After everyone else had gone to sleep, Houshi-sama got up and left. He must have thought that I was also asleep because he did not notice when I followed him to see if everything was okay."

"Sango-chan," Kagome frowned. This was obviously bothering Sango a great deal but somehow Kagome had figured that Miroku's lack of faithfulness was something that Sango had figured out by now.

"I watched him long enough to see where he was going, and she seemed to be waiting for him and..." Sango's voice drifted off as she stared into the distance. "Will he always be like that, Kagome-chan?"

Kagome opened her mouth, ready to tell her friend that Miroku just hadn't realized what he had in Sango. As the first syllable of her response drifted out of her mouth, it was completely obscured by the loud cracking sound that echoed through the small valley. All eyes drifted upwards towards the forest above them just in time to see the huge tree that was flying through the air towards them. Moving as fast as she could towards the shoreline, Sango watched as Kagome tried to move to a safer location. The monstrous log hit the water with a cracking splash and Kagome's scream echoed through the valley. Sango was horrified as her friend vanished underneath the tree. "Oh my god. Kagome-chan!"

The taijiya rushed back and began trying to pull the obstruction off of her but it was no good. The tree was just too large to move. Trapped with her right arm and head out of the water, but otherwise okay, Kagome yelled, "Sango-chan! Go find Inuyasha!" Thinking about that, she added, "And give me a towel, first!"

Sango nodded tersely and tucked a towel around Kagome's body, attempting to preserve as much of her modesty as she could. The sounds of a battle raging up on the hill top were now drifting down to where they were and Sango could hear a massive roar even as she pulled her taijiya uniform on. Grabbing Hiraikotsu, she shouted Inuyasha's name and got ready to climb up the side of the hill to see if there was anything she could do to help. As she reached out for a rock to hoist herself up, Inuyasha came tumbling over the edge and down the side followed by a gigantic bear youkai. That explained the tree at least, Sango thought.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha was cursing loudly at the youkai as he wrestled with it. "Just die already!" Punching it twice in the head, he managed to daze it. Taking advantage of the lull, he pulled out Tetsusaiga and stabbed the monster in the heart. It let out a blood curdling scream and fell over, unconscious. More concerned about what was happening to the girls, Inuyasha didn't stop to check and make sure the job was done. Inuyasha spun on his feet and tuned towards Sango. "You okay?"

"Inuyasha, Kagome-chan is-," but Kagome had just realized that Inuyasha was standing about a dozen feet from where she was and that she was completely naked except for a towel.

"OSUWARI!"

Inuyasha slammed into Sango with an amazing force, knocking them both to the ground. Inuyasha found himself staring at Sango's picture perfect breasts. In her hurry to get help for Kagome, Sango had neglected to fasten the clasps on her collar and now the black cloth served as the perfect frame for a generous portion of cleavage. Inuyasha felt his face burning even as Sango had a matching blush coloring her features. "S-Sango, I-"

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Kagome had started screaming again. Momentarily distracted from their awkward moment, both Inuyasha and Sango turned their heads just in time to see the bear pull itself to its feet and, with a roar, start running towards Kagome. Recovered from the unexpected subjugation, Inuyasha jumped to his feet. Grabbing the tree that had pinned Kagome, he hoisted it with some effort and launched it in the direction of the bear. A pile of wood and fur fell to the ground as the log caught the bear full in the stomach. Kagome yelled, "The shard! Get the shard!"

"Damn it, woman! Where IS the shard?" Inuyasha barked back.

"His forehead! Right in the middle of his forehead!"

"Keh! I just hit him there! What do you think I am, stupid or-"

"JUST GET IT!" Kagome was scrambling to pull clothes on and stay out of sight.

"Mou!" Fed up with the argument and fuming about her embarrassment, Sango had gotten to her feet. Swinging Hiraikotsu, she slung the weapon towards the monster and, in one easy slice, its head went flying into the air. It landed with a sickening thud twenty feet away.

Inuyasha walked over to it and slammed his foot down on the jaws even as they kept trying to snap at him. Shooting his hand forward, he dug his fist into the bear's head and pulled out the shard. He watched with annoyance as it sucked the life out of the bear when he pulled it out. The fight had been way too easy, it just wasn't satisfying. Kagome, having reached some semblance of modesty, walked over to him. Apparently she had forgotten about her earlier actions. She held out her hand and waited as Inuyasha dropped the shard into her palm. Frowning, Kagome watched as the shard leeched towards pink again. It happened slowly, rather than almost instantly like it usually did. Something just didn't seem right about it.

)(*)(

If the previous night had seemed to go amazingly well, this was its exact opposite. Everyone was tense and it seemed like no one was talking. The fact that it was incredibly unusual to find two shards so close together had everyone ill at ease. When Kagome had shared her concerns about the most recent shard, it had been met with apprehension. The mood that hung over the group now was one of annoyance. Inuyasha had yelled at Miroku for not trying to help more and the monk had protested that he had been fighting another youkai on the hill. A youkai that Inuyasha couldn't remember seeing, smelling or hearing. Inuyasha was disgruntled by the entire affair. He had also tried to talk to Kagome about her 'osuwari' earlier. She had asked him to stay with her, so why the hell had she done that when he was just trying to save her? He'd seen her naked before, it wasn't like it was a big deal or anything. Stupid human modesty. Speaking of modesty, he looked at Sango. He really should apologize but it wasn't like it was his fault that she'd slammed into her. Then again, she hadn't said anything either. Miroku, who was sitting next to Sango, had a fresh hand imprint plastered to the side of his face. _Maybe it would be better not to mention it right now_, Inuyasha thought.

"Oh, great," Kagome sighed, slumping down next to the fire as she returned one of her textbooks to her backpack when rain drops began to pour down from the sky. "And I thought nothing else could go wrong today."

"It's just a little rain, stop complaining." Inuyasha came and sat down beside her.

Kagome turned and glared at him. "You have no sensitivity whatsoever. Can't you just-"

"Inuyasha, please try not to aggravate Kagome-sama. We've all had a rough evening." Miroku attempted to regain some dignity after having been slapped again by Sango. He had seated himself far from the fire and looked as though he was meditating. Sango had taken to polishing Hiraikotsu and was thoroughly ignoring all of them.

"Inuyasha, you're such a meanie!" Shippou added.

"Inuyasha-sama!" The tiny voice drew everyone's attention as Myouga bounced into the camp, a large kerchief of belongings swung over his shoulder.

"Myouga-ji." Everyone murmured his name as they registered his presence.

"What are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked, one eyebrow raised. Myouga never showed up without a reason for his being there. Even then, he tried to stay away. Inuaysha's presence was just too dangerous for the flea to run the risk very often. Everyone else had moved from their respective positions to be able to see him better.

Pacing back and forth on a piece of firewood, Myouga looked deep in thought. "I have brought news. Very important, yes. I've learned some things that I thought that you should know."

"Well, what kind of news is it? Good news, bad news?" Kagome asked.

"Myouga! Don't just say things like that." Inuyasha growled.

Myouga surveyed them all and nodded seriously. "It could be good news, in a way."

"In a way?"

"Kagome-sama, you have the Shikon no Tama shards with you, do you not?" Myouga asked.

"Of course," Kagome fished the little glass bottle out of her blouse and held it up for the flea's inspection. "Why?"

"Have you noticed anything strange about the shards? Any changes?"

Blinking, Kagome returned the shards to their usual place. "What kind of changes?"

"Do they feel differently?" Myouga looked at her with a very serious expression. "Do they look different?"

Kagome's mind flew over the past few shards that they had collected. For the most part, no, they were the same. However, the shard that they had collected that afternoon came easily to mind. It had taken minutes to turn back to a healthier shade of purple and, even then, the dark aura around it hadn't seemed to fade entirely. The feeling of it still felt dirty, somehow. "Yes. They have been taking longer to feel pure."

"I see..." Myouga crossed all four of his arms across his chest, closing his eyes as if deep in thought. "Yes, yes. I think that I am quite correct. Inuyasha-sama, the Shikon no Tama that you have been collecting the shards for is a fake."

**)(~)(**

_Author's Note:_ Well, how's that for a cliff hanger? I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think. More coming very soon!


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

After a brief moment of silence, chaos erupted in the house and everyone began talking at once.

"What do you mean, a fake?" Inuyasha shouted.

"Inuyasha, calm yourself." Miroku was the first to regain his composition. "Myouga-san, can you please explain?"

Myouga nodded and turned to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha-sama, I need to ask you about the incident fifty years ago. The day that Kikyo-sama sealed you to the tree, you stole the Shikon no Tama from its shrine, did you not?"

"Keh," Inuyasha snorted and crossed his arms. "Of course I did!"

"Then," Myouga continued, "how do you explain the fact that Kikyo-sama also had the Shikon no Tama, which she had brought with her to meet you, at the same time and on the same day?"

Inuyasha stared. Kagome asked, "What do you mean?"

"The day that Inuyasha had agreed to turn himself human, Kikyo-sama took the Shikon no Tama to their meeting place in order for him to do that," Myouga said. "It's possible that she believed that the villagers would worry if the Shikon no Tama were found missing, or perhaps she doubted Inuyasha's commitment and believed that he would not go through with the wish and that she would be able to replace the jewel later. Whatever her motivation, I believe that Kikyo-sama replaced the original jewel with this." He gestured towards Kagome and indicated the shards that she carried. "When Naraku attacked her, he took the real jewel. Kikyo-sama, who falsely believed that Inuyasha was her attacker, requested that the fake jewel be burned with her body after she had caught him with it when she sealed Inuyasha to the tree."

"If that's true, why did the fake jewel have power?" Kagome asked. Everyone was now watching Myouga with varying reactions. Inuyasha's expression was completely unreadable. Miroku looked worried. Sango's face wore an expression bordering on alarm, and she was petting Kirara to calm the cat down. Even Shippou had buried his head in Kagome's shirt and was now biting a fold of the cloth as he waited to hear more.

"Hmm," Myouga closed his eyes. "It's hard to say for certain but I think that the jewel was a real Shikon no Tama. Just not the one that Kikyo-sama had been sent to guard."

"We've seen a couple of those before," Miroku said.

Sango glanced at him, uneasy. "Yes, but if that were the case, would the shards be behaving like Kagome says they are?"

"That's right. The other fake Shikon no Tama were always completely corrupt, they never felt pure. These," Kagome held up the bottle of shards, "felt completely pure until very recently."

"That's correct, Kagome-sama," Myouga said. "I believe that the reason for the difference should be obvious."

"How the hell is any of this obvious, old man?" Inuyasha spat. "Just tell us already."

"My apologies, Inuyasha-sama." Bowing, Myouga said, "If I am not mistaken, Kikyo-sama so believed that the jewel was real that she put a small piece of her life force into the jewel as she died, as she was so intent on keeping it safe. It is likely that her life force, which is now her hatred for Inuyasha-sama, had kept the jewel empowered until now and-"

"... and her miko powers caused the jewel to be purified, regardless of the evil behind it." Miroku finished.

"Yes, that is what I believe."

Kagome was in shock. She didn't want to believe it but the more that Myouga talked, the more it made sense. Nausea stirred in the pit of her stomach as she contemplated the possibilities. The shards were fake. Her ability to see them was the entire reason she was there. What would happen if they didn't need to find the rest of the shards? Pulled out of her thoughts, she looked up when Sango asked a question. The taijiya looked at Myouga and said, "If that is true, what happened to the real Shikon no Tama?"

"That is very difficult to say," Myouga said. "If my information is correct, then Naraku had the original jewel fifty years ago. I believe he has used the jewel to achieve his current state of being."

"That can't be right," Inuyasha spoke up. "Kagome almost killed him, towards the beginning, when we were first looking for him. She completely destroyed his body, he had to make a new one."

"You are correct," Myouga said. "I believe that he may have used the jewel to survive that incident. The false jewel would have acted as a decoy until Naraku was able to achieve his goal using the real jewel, which would mean that-"

"I thought that when you made a wish on the Shikon no Tama it came true immediately," Kagome interrupted.

Myouga looked at her very seriously. "No, Kagome-sama. If that were true then I am quite certain that none of us would be alive at this moment. In order for a wish to come true there must be nothing opposing it."

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha watched Myouga with interest, his expression grave.

"For example, Inuyasha-sama," Myouga said, "suppose that you used the jewel to wish for money. The money you wished for would have to come from somewhere, it cannot be conjured out of nothingness, and the current owner of those riches would have to have no compunctions against you having their money. If they did not want you to have their possessions, the wish would not be able to be completed."

"So, in theory, Naraku could wish to be immortal and, since none of us had considered that possibility and tried to prevent it, it could have happened."

"Yes."

"But is that what actually happened?"

Myouga sighed, the weary sigh of an old man. "I cannot say for certain."

A silence deeper than death had fallen on the entire group as they absorbed this information. After a few moments, Inuyasha spoke, "Oi. You said that this fake jewel was being powered by Kikyo's life force. Why the fuck are the shards being all weird and shit, then?"

"I believe that Kikyo-sama's hatred for you has slowly waned, Inuyasha-sama," Myouga said.

Kagome's eyes leveled with the flea. "Kikyo-sama's hatred for Inuyasha is her life force. Myouga, are you saying that..."

Solemnly, Myouga nodded. "I believe that Kikyo-sama... is dying."

At this announcement, Inuyasha stood straight up, brushing Kagome's hand away as she reached for him, and walked to the far edge of the camp. Kagome's eyes were unreadable as she watched the hanyou move away. Sango also watched him quietly for a moment and then asked, "Myouga-jiisan, what will happen to the people who currently have a shard of the fake jewel?"

"Ah," Myouga said and he turned to face her. "I do not believe that anyone carrying the fake shards will suffer any ill effects. The shards will simply lose their power over time."

To Myouga, that would not have been significant. To Sango, however, the information was like a dagger to her heart. If that were true, Kohaku was as good as dead. She stood saying, "Excuse me, please."

Sango walked away from the camp to allow herself space to think. Miroku remained seated, his eyes fixed on the palm of his hand. His expression was darker than any of the others had ever seen it. Kagome just felt lost. Her hand was rubbing Shippou's hair automatically, her eyes looked at him but didn't actually see him. From her lap, he whispered worriedly, "What's going to happen, Kagome?"

"I don't know, Shippou-chan. I don't know."

)(*)(

The early evening had faded quickly into a dark night. Storm clouds gathered in the distance and the loud rumble of thunder miles away echoed the clouded thoughts that plagued the traveling group. Kagome had resumed her more traditional sleeping position, crawling into her sleeping bag alongside the fire. She had fallen quickly asleep, much to everyone's surprise. Miroku had moved further away from the others than usual. He apparently needed the space to accommodate whatever troubling thoughts the news had brought to him. Tucked in with Kagome, Shippou tossed and turned, letting out whining cries as he dreamed. Inuyasha sat staring into the flames of the fire.

The full impact of the news still hadn't had time to sink in. He just could not comprehend the possibilities. The thought that Kikyo might be dying, again, was something that he didn't even want to contemplate. And worse, if Naraku were truly impossible to kill, he would never be able to seek revenge for her murder. Was it really possible that the entire past three years had been for nothing? Was it really just an exercise in wasted effort? That did seem like Naraku's style, Inuyasha thought bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha." Looking up, Inuyasha saw that Sango watched him from across the fire. She laid against Kirara's over-sized body, her own body covered with a blanket. Her eyes were red and it was easy to tell that she had been crying. She had always tried not to cry when the others were awake. He didn't blame her for crying tonight. He knew that she, too, faced the same terrible feeling that he did. Just as he would lose Kikyo again, she would lose Kohaku. They had always shared that connection. Of everyone else in their small group of friends, Inuyasha doubted that anyone else could understand him on the level that Sango could at times like this.

He nodded, acknowledging her. The hanyou looked away for a moment, unable to look her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, too."

"Why?" Sango asked quietly. Apologies from Inuyasha were few and far between. Sango found this one to be rather unexpected.

Inuyasha sighed, his voice heavy. "I promised that we would get Kohaku back, but..." He didn't bother finishing the sentence. If Myouga was correct and the shards were losing power then it was only a matter of time before Kohaku became nothing more than a corpse again. Inuyasha had fifty years of separation between Kikyo's death and the possibility of her second departure now, but to Sango... Kohaku had been her little brother only a matter of months ago. If he had been in her place, Inuyasha did not think that he would be able to behave as bravely as the taijiya was. Not for the first time, he realized just how much he really admired her strength.

Sango sat up, hugging her legs to her chest. "Kohaku has been gone for a very long while now. I may not want to admit that but there is nothing that I... or you... could do to change that fact." She chewed on her lip for a second before continuing. "However, I would still like to give him a decent burial. It's the least that I can do for him, when we find him." She stared into the fire for a moment before managing to catch Inuyasha's gaze and looking him directly in the eyes. "Thank you, for everything you've done for him. I appreciate it."

Unable to think of a response, Inuyasha just nodded. His eyes fell from hers tot he flames in front of them both. They sat for some time in a comfortable silence.

"Will you go look for her?" Sango's voice was quiet as she asked. Inuyasha felt his lips turn up slightly into a mocking half-smile.

"Kagome asked me that same thing yesterday." Inuyasha turned his eyes to stare at her. "No, I won't. This Kikyo... isn't Kikyo. The Kikyo that I knew has been dead for a very long time."

"It still hurts you to think about her." It wasn't a question. Sango's gaze turned as she looked towards the dark shape of Miroku, barely visible in the harsh shadows thrown by the fire. Sango felt a sharp stab of envy. For all that she felt for Miroku, she was keenly aware of the one thing that Miroku lacked. Even after half a century, Inuyasha was still in love with Kikyo. Still devoted to her on a level that Sango wasn't entirely certain she understood. That was a type of faithfulness that she could only dream of. Even now, as Inuyasha spoke of his lost love, his words were colored with sadness.

Noticing the bitter tone in her voice, Inuyasha asked, "Are you okay?" His gold eyes watched her face, worried.

Very quietly, with her voice barely above a whisper, Sango replied, "I want to leave."

"Leave?" He was confused. "Why?"

Sango's eyes drifted up to meet his. "At times, I feel so very tired of all of this. When I agreed to travel with all of you, somehow I thought..." She paused, considering how to say what was on her mind. "This isn't what I wanted out of my life. We follow Naraku, but we never make any real progress. In the end, I wonder if we are being led around like puppets on a string. I just want to get away from everything. Do you ever feel like that, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha gazed back at her. He knew he was seeing a side of Sango that she rarely showed to their other friends. On quiet nights like this, he and Sango frequently found themselves awake as they talked late into the night. She had always been a good friend to him. Not answering, he watched as Sango settled herself back against Kirara and pulled her blanket closer about her. Quietly, Inuyasha responded, "More often than you know."

)(*)(

A week had passed, the days flew by as the group tried to gather their thoughts and formulate a plan of action. The real question that hung over most of their heads was whether or not Naraku was still mortal. If he was immortal then no amount of clever planning would be able to help them kill him. While true immortals were rare, they did exist. Inuyasha had pointed out that Naraku didn't seem to exist in Kagome's time but his enthusiasm was killed when Miroku pointed out that Naraku could simply be hiding in order to facilitate that view. The monk was determined to pursue Naraku regardless of what they found out about the fate of the real jewel. After all, he really didn't have much of any option. Without killing Naraku, his days were numbered by Kazaana, regardless of the fate of the jewel. Likewise Sango, Inuyasha and Shippou agreed that the fake jewel didn't affect the original plan of finding Naraku. Sango seemed to be of the opinion that it was incredibly unlikely that Naraku had wished for immortality. If he had, then why had he taken so many extra precautions against being permanently destroyed? Extra bodies and his offspring seemed like extreme measures if he wasn't, on some level, afraid for his life. The news had brought about a strange lack of fighting among the group. Kagome hadn't used 'osuwari' more than twice. The petty quarrels that usually occupied their time seemed to have vanished in the face of this new problem.

As well as the others had started working to figure out the plan, however, Kagome had withdrawn. Brooding and quiet, she had kept to herself and made a point of avoiding the others. She was still polite and had done her best to help with what little that she could but it didn't really come as a surprise when she suddenly announced that she was going to go home for a while. Everyone else still had their reasons to be there. They still had a reason to fight Naraku. For Kagome, however, her reason for being there was now a mystery. The shards of the jewel no longer mattered. In her eyes, that meant that she had no real reason to be there. Inuyasha watched as she packed her textbooks into her bag. After she had pulled the drawstrings closed to hold everything in the bag, she stood and walked out of the door with Inuyasha trailing behind. Together, they walked in silence towards the well.

"When will you be back?" Inuyasha asked, not looking at her directly. "Or do you want me to come and get you when we're ready to leave?"

"I don't know if I will be back, Inuyasha." Kagome watched him with sad eyes. The tone in her voice was final, and Inuyasha knew very well that she wasn't saying she didn't know. She was saying good bye. There was a swishing of material and Kagome vanished over the side of the well. Only then did Inuyasha turn to look at the structure and he felt something like a great black hole opening up inside of him. He knew that he should feel sad. Thinking back to that night, only a week before, with Kagome's lips pressed to his and the joy that he had felt when she asked him to stay with her... He should go after her. Staring over the edge and into the blackness at the bottom of the well, he wondered why the fact that she was gone didn't bother him more. Instead, the hanyou didn't feel much of anything beyond a great emptiness. He ran a hand along the wooden edge of the well and then he turned to walk back towards Kaede's village.

)(*)(

As his bare feet progressed down the path, Inuyasha saw a bizarre sight as he came out of the trees near Kaede's house. The villagers had come out of their homes and watched as two figures ran down the dirt roads towards Kaede's home. The shapes of Ginta and Hakaku, Kouga's faithful followers, panting from exertion, could be seen coming to a swift halt in front of the small, wooden building. Inuyasha sped up and reached the house just as Sango and Miroku emerged from the front door.

"What on earth is going on?" Sango asked, looking bewildered. Both of the wolves were covered in sweat and were out of breath.

"Where is Kagome-oneechan?" Hakaku panted. "We have to see her!"

"Kagome's gone." Inuyasha said, annoyance creeping into his voice. "What's your problem? Where's your asshole of a leader?"

Ginta collected himself and looked at Inuyasha with something again to terror. "Kouga is dead."

**)(~)(**  
_Authors Note:_ Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Well, with Kagome gone, I wonder what the group will do? What do you think? Let me know!


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

A wave of silence passed over the group as they absorbed the information they had just been handed. "Kouga's dead?" Inuyasha blinked. "What do you mean, dead?"

Both of the wolves were completely beside themselves. Ginta wailed, "He was fine last night! Kouga was fine! And then--"

"We just woke up and he was dead!" Hakkaku finished his sentence. Inuyasha's mind had gone completely blank. This was not information he was even prepared to process.  
How could Kouga be dead? Had he been sick or something? There as no way the wolf would just keel over. Inuyasha didn't care much for Kouga, but he respected him. At least  
Kouga could kick some ass. Sometimes. Was this some kind of sick joke, another effort on Kouga's part to try to get Kagome away from Inuyasha? It didn't seem likely and,  
looking at Ginta and Hakkaku, it seemed like their grief was genuine.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Sango asked. The expression of shock on her face mirrored Inuyasha's own expression perfectly. The taijiya took a step closer to the  
wolves as she asked. She felt sorry for them.

One of the wolves nodded. "Last night, we had already traveled a very long way."

"Very, very long way," the other chimed in. "Kouga wanted to see Kagome-oneechan and he pushed us to move even faster than normal. When we stopped--"

"Kouga said his legs were hurting, from coming so far. We were only a few miles away, we were going to finish traveling this morning, but--"

"In the middle of the night we heard a terrible scream and--"

"When we went to check to see what it was, we found Kouga dead." Ginta nodded, he looked frightened. Tears beaded at the edges of his eyes. "He didn't move! And when  
we tried to wake him up, he still wouldn't move and his skin was cold like ice and--" His voice dissolved into sobs as he started crying.

Inuyasha frowned. Sango's eyebrows were pulled down in thought. Miroku, too, looked as though he thought there had to be something more to the story than Inuyasha had  
managed to comprehend. The monk and the taijiya exchanged a significant look. Quietly, Miroku asked, "His legs were hurting? Does that happen often?"

"No," Hakkaku shook his head. "Not at all. I've never heard Kouga say his legs hurt before."

"I don't mean to be rude," Sango said, "but is there any way we could see his body?"

"Of course."

)(*)(

It wasn't a long trek to the cave where the wolves had been staying. They really hadn't been too far off the road, it was mainly a matter of getting across some  
difficult terrain and finding the entrance to the cave itself that was the problem. When they finally came across it, the entire group reeled back from the entrance.

"You're sure this is it?" Miroku reached up to cover his face with his sleeve. The stench that was coming from inside was unbelievable. Outside of the cave, Ginta and  
Hakkaku were huddling together almost as if they were afraid of what lay inside. They both nodded.

"It didn't smell like that when we left, not at all."

"It smells like rotting flesh," Inuyasha said. He, too, had his nose covered. It was a miracle that he hadn't been knocked senseless by the strength of the odor.  
Nonetheless, he lead the way into the cavern. The two wolves remained outside but there was plenty of room inside for everyone else to come in. Once they were inside, it took  
a minute for their eyes to adjust. When they did, the shock hit all of them very hard.

"What happened to his legs?" Sango asked. Even Shippou was staring in disbelief at the sight that lay before them. Kouga's body was laid out on a pile of fur, as if he  
had been sleeping, just as Ginta and Hakkaku had said. His eyes were closed and, for the most part, he looked as if he had just dozed off. At least, that was the impression  
that they got until they looked closer. The skin just above his knees was dark and mottled. Below his knees, the fur wraps that had covered his calves lay in messy and mostly  
flat piles on the ground, covered in muck. His legs looked as if they had been melted away. A puddle of black ooze was all that covered the ground where his legs should be,  
saturating the piles of matted fur in between the two stumps of his legs and the charred and discolored remains of his feet. Clearly visible through two small holes that had  
burned through the leg coverings, two tiny black shards glittered faintly in the darkness.

"Shit," Inuyasha said. "What on earth did you get into, wolf?"

The hanyou walked forward and plucked both shards out of the mess around the corpse. After taking a step back, he looked at what remained of Kouga's body and felt a  
slight chill go down his back. While Kouga and he had never exactly seen eye to eye on a lot of things, he had always respected him. Kouga had been bold enough to fight his  
way through the ranks of the wolf tribe to become a leader. He had earned the respect of his pack. He had always been loyal to his friends, even those he hadn't been  
incredibly fond of. People like that didn't just keel over dead in the middle of the night. And they sure as hell didn't get their legs melted off. Inuyasha knew he had to  
find out what happened, and he prayed that it didn't have anything to do with the two tiny shards in his hand. Looking over at the others, he said, "We should bury him, at  
least."

)(*)(

Evening had come and gone. It was late into the night now. They had debated whether or not to return to Kaede's house after burying Kouga's body. The fact of the  
matter was that they simply had no reason to return. They were well equipped, well rested and ready to go. The only question was; where to? In the end, they had set out away  
from Kaede's village along the dirt road that lead off into the mountains. The trip would have been pleasant if they hadn't been attacked by almost a dozen different youkai.  
Frustrated, exhausted and in a bad mood the group stopped in an abandoned house that was situated along the roadside. Even with Miroku's charms in place along the doors, they  
were still concerned that more attackers might show up. However, after a few hours they began to feel relatively safe. Safe enough, at least, to attempt to discuss a solution  
to that very problem.

"We can't keep carrying them with us, Inuyasha," Miroku said. He sounded annoyed. Holding up the tiny glass bottle that they had decided to store the shards in, he  
shook it to help make his point. "These shards are corrupted. We may be looking for Naraku but there are definitely better ways of finding him than by attracting every youkai  
in the area."

"Houshi-sama is right," Sango said. "Perhaps we should find a miko who can purify the shards for us."

Inuyasha snorted. "Keh. Kagome had trouble purifying the shards and she was the only miko we know of who was even remotely strong enough to handle them."

"Kikyo could, as well, you know. There must be others," offered the taijiya.

"Or you could just take the corrupted shards back to Kagome-sama and that would be the end of it." Miroku said. He was practically glaring at Inuyasha. Shippou stirred  
in his sleep at the mention of Kagome's name. Inuyasha looked down at the fox cub and sighed.

"Kagome made her choice. She left. She took the rest of those damn fake shards with her and I'm not about to--"

"Have you ever considered that she might be in danger? If the shards can do something like what happened to Kouga?"

Inuyasha froze. No, he hadn't considered that. His thoughts flew back to the raven haired miko from the future. Immediately, he felt that hole open up inside of him  
again. There wasn't really a word for it. It wasn't really pain. It definitely wasn't longing. It was something that the hanyou had no words for. Unsettling, in the very  
least. He quickly directed his thoughts away from the void. Inuyasha had no answer for Miroku, and so he remained silent. He looked up and noticed that Sango was watching him,  
her expression unreadable. After a moment, she stood up and went to the door. "I'm going outside for a while."

"What about youkai?" Inuyasha asked. Sango didn't answer, but she pointedly hoisted Hiraikotsu as she left the building. There was a heavy thudding from outside as she set the  
weapon down.

Miroku sighed. "We will have to figure out a solution to this eventually, Inuyasha. You may be fine with being attacked so often but we can't take the constant  
stress." The monk got to his feet. "I think I will join Sango. We can decide what to do in the morning, but we will have to do something about these shards."

)(*)(

Outside, Miroku found Sango sitting on the small porch that ran around the outside of the dilapidated building they were staying in. Looking up as he came out to join  
her, Sango smiled. "Houshi-sama."

She was glad for the company. Her thoughts drifted over the events of the past few days as Miroku sat down beside her. Feelings of discontentment had consumed her  
lately. Somehow, things seemed better with Miroku beside her. Even with all of his problems with faithfulness, his wandering hands and his more questionable tendencies, she  
still knew that he was reliable. Miroku had always been a comfort for her in difficult times. Having him sitting beside her was a welcome interruption to the chaos, sadness  
and violence that the day had brought. On top of that, something about the way Inuyasha talked about Kagome was unsettling to her. Right then, she felt a million miles away  
from where she had woken up that morning. Every day seemed to bring about more changes than she cared for. Perhaps her views of the monk had been skewed by the stress she had  
been feeling over everything else.

"The sky is beautiful tonight," Miroku's violet eyes were fixed on the sky that was peeking through the cloud cover. Sango hadn't even noticed.

"Yes, it is." Low clouds floated over a dark sapphire sky, accented by glistening stars that looked like diamonds. On any other night it would have taken her breath  
away. Try as she might, she just couldn't seem to pull her mind away from everything that had been happening. "Houshi-sama, I've been wondering about all of this. The fake  
shards, Kouga and now Kagome-chan leaving. What do you make of it?"

"Hmm," Miroku thought about it for a second. "I believe that what Myouga said was essentially correct regarding the fake jewel. However, it leaves to many questions  
unanswered. We need to find more information before we really do anything and we need to find a way to take care of the fake shards."

"Do you think Kohaku is okay?" Sango looked away.

"I don't know, Sango." Miroku looked at her sympathetically. "With what happened with Kouga, we can only hope that Kohaku is okay. Myouga said that there shouldn't be  
any ill effects other than..." His voice trailed off as he realized the implications of his words. In this case there really were no good options. There was no real hope to  
give. "I'm certain that he will be fine."

"Oh?" Sango's tone was sad and disbelieving. From Miroku she had come to expect honesty in most situations. Mindless confidence wasn't his style, not when it really  
counted. In a way, she had halfway hoped that he would be a bit more blunt about the situation. If only because it seemed like hearing someone else voice the reality of it  
would make it seem less personal to her. At the moment, she felt like the only person in the world who was aware of the fate that awaited her little brother. At the same time,  
she knew it didn't really matter. In the end...

"Whatever will be, will be." Miroku said, smiling at her. She could feel herself responding with a smile of her own as he reached out and took her hand. This was a bit  
of a surprise but the monk didn't do anything suspicious. Amused at the look of suspicion on her face, he asked, "How long do you think it will be before Kagome-sama comes  
back?"

"You think she will come back?" Sango was skeptical. Certainly, Kagome had declared that she was leaving before and had gone through the well for extended periods in  
her attempt to detach herself from Inuyasha and this side of the well. Regardless, she always kept coming back. This time it had been different. The girl had just said that  
she was going home for a while. She hadn't even said it was permanent. There was just something about the way that she said it that had made them all think it might be.

"Yes," Miroku's eyes had turned back towards the sky, looking at the stars. "I think that some part of Kagome-sama will always be drawn back here, back to Inuyasha."  
He fell silent for a moment before turning to look at Sango. His eyes were the same color as the sky. "It's nice, in a way, isn't it? To be drawn to someone like that."

Sango could feel his gaze on her as she caught her breath. She breathed, "Yes."

His hand squeezed hers and he began speaking again. "I've been thinking lately... about what we've talked about. Everything that has occurred in the past week has  
changed a lot of what I had hoped would happen. Or, rather, what I thought we could accomplish. It has given me a very... great deal to think about.

"You know, what I said was not true." His eyes drifted down to their joined hands. "I told you that I had never really seen you as anything other than a comrade in  
battle, another person I traveled with. That was a lie. I had tried to tell myself that many times. You have no idea how many. All the women, all the... distractions... I  
tried very hard not to think otherwise.

"At some point, right around the time we got trapped in Hakurei-zan. I think I finally gave up fighting my feelings for you."

Sango was holding her breath now. She had never heard Miroku say anything like this and she was torn between joy and suspicion. Not wanting to ruin the moment, she  
kept her voice quiet as she asked, "Houshi-sama... why are you telling me this now?"

Miroku reached up with his other hand and brushed a few stray strands of hair away from her forehead. "Because I am wanting to ask you something. we cannot keep  
traveling like this, especially now with those shards bringing youkai to us from miles around. Sango, I love you. You said that you would bear my children, live with me, build  
a life with me when all of this is over. Inuyasha and Shippou are not... bringing us any closer to that goal. I am leaving to find Naraku on my own and finish this. I want you  
to come with me."

"Houshi-sama..." Sango said quietly. "We can't leave. Not yet."

"What do you mean?" Miroku's gaze was focused on her.

The taijiya sighed and looked away from him. "With everything that Naraku does he tries to drive us apart. Look at what he has done to Inuyasha and Kikyo. And now, with  
these fake shards, he has done the same thing with Kagome. Every thing he does is done to make us play into his hands and if we leave now we will just be doing exactly what he  
wants.

"Even if we did leave, I don't think you and I could take out Naraku on our own. How many times have we been saved by Inuyasha? He can do things neither of us are  
capable of."

Miroku's expression had turned grave. "You don't think we would be able to survive if Naraku attacked us."

"Think about the situation," Sango said, pulling her hand away from Miroku's. "If you had been poisoned again and we were fighting Naraku, all he would have to do to  
ensure the fact that we would not act is use Kohaku. In that condition, you wouldn't be able to do anything and I..."

"If it came down to it, Sango, you wouldn't do anything even if it meant saving your life? Or mine?"

"Houshi-sama, how can you even ask me that?" Sango had gotten to her feet now. "Kohaku is still my little brother. I know that he has done terrible things that may  
have lead him down a darker path but those things were not his fault. Naraku has done this to him. I cannot give him the satisfaction of playing into his hands and I cannot  
kill my little brother. I'm sorry, Houshi-sama, but I cannot come with you."

"Sango," Miroku stood up as well and took a step towards her, forcing her to take a step back. "You said that you wanted to come with me. Isn't that still true?"

"Yes, but--"

"I told you I love you, Sango. You're mine." Miroku had come so close that Sango had backed up against one of the wooden columns supporting the roof. His eyes were  
boring into hers as she instinctively felt around for Hiraikotsu. Suddenly, she realized that the weapon was sitting several feet away, leaned against a wall. She hadn't  
thought to equip any of her daggers or other weaponry. She didn't have time to think she she felt his hand drift across the cloth of her yukata, grazing her breast and  
squeezing. His lips pressed up against hers. Sango balled her fist to punch him but in an instant the hand she felt on her chest was gone and she felt a tight grip on both of  
her wrists, firmly holding them in place. Sango let out a cry as Miroku's mouth drifted to her ear. "Sango..."

Miroku moved so that he was holding both of Sango's arms forcefully against her body. He reached a hand up to loosen her yukata. Sango struggled against him, but no  
matter how hard she fought he was still stronger. He was also too close for her to use her legs effectively to kick him. Normally more than able to defend herself, Sango was  
unnerved by the fact that she wasn't getting the upper edge here, and if he moved any--

A loud snarl sounded from the porch. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, bouzu?"


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, bouzu?" Inuyasha was standing on the wooden porch and staring in disbelief at the sight that had greeted him when he had come outside. Sango was pushed back up against one of the wooden beams that supported the roof of the house. Her scent was tainted with fear. Against her, Miroku had leaned himself on her body in such a way that she wasn't able to move. The monk's head was buried at her neck and one of his hands was very clearly inside of the taijiya's yukata. Inuyasha had heard a shout coming from outside and, against his better judgement, he had come out to investigate. Whatever he had been expecting, this wasn't it.

The hanyou's eyes darted back and forth between the monk and Sango. The concern he felt for her safety was multiplied by the smell of terror that was coming from her. Sango had travelled with them now for almost two years. During that time he could only honestly say that he thought she had been afraid four times. This made the fifth. That thought made Inuyasha furious. "Get the fuck off of her!"

Miroku pulled his hand out of Sango's yukata, dropping her wrists and moving away slightly. Inuyasha growled, low and dangerous, as the monk shrugged as if nothing had happened. "We were just talking, Inuyasha. I really don't appreciate th-- AAAGGHHHHHHHH!"

Whatever he had intended to say was abruptly cut off by the force of Sango's knee connecting with his stomach. She didn't spare him another glance as she quickly ran over to Hiraikotsu and, picking up the giant boomerang, went inside. Inuyasha watched as she slid past him, feeling a wave of relief wash over him as she entered the building. He hadn't realized just how worried he had been about her. His golden eyes drifted back to Miroku. The monk was leaning heavily against the pillar that he had pushed Sango into only moments before. He hadn't said a word, but he was whimpering. Inuyasha was amazed that he was still able to stand. Ignoring the rumbling in the back of his throat, Inuyasha kept his voice quiet but lethal. "Miroku, I don't give a fuck what you do when you're in those villages and messing around with those girls. However, if you ever lay one goddamn hand on Sango again when she doesn't want you to, I will rip your fucking head off."

He didn't bother to see whether or not the monk would be okay. The damage he had been dealt was more than justified, in the hanyou's opinion. His only concern was for Sango. Turning, he went back into the building that they were calling home for the night. Inside, Sango was busy unpacking a bedroll. As the hanyou came in, she looked up.

"Are you okay?" Inuyasha asked.

Sango hesitated for a second before nodding. "Yes, I think so."

"Bullshit," the hanyou responded. "You're shaking. What did he do to you?"

"It's nothing, Inuyasha." Sango pulled out a spare yukata and spread it out as she prepared to bed down for the night. Her voice was quiet, even subdued, as she denied that anything had happened. "But... thank you, for what you did out there."

Inuyasha sighed, looking at her. Sango was such a strong woman, but just then she looked surprisingly fragile. She kept glancing at the doorway and it was obvious what she was worried about. Whatever respect Inuyasha had harbored for Miroku, it was gone now. He couldn't believe the fucking lech had actually gone that far... and, even more, he doubted whether or not the damage could be undone. "Don't worry about it." Inuyasha shrugged and nodded his head in the direction of the door. "And don't worry about him, either. He won't be coming back in tonight. You just get some sleep, and Sango?"

"What is it, Inuyasha?"

"If he tries anything like that again, tell me."

Sango looked up at him. "Why?"

"Look, I don't know what's going on between you two," Inuyasha said, "but there is absolutely nothing that gives him the right to do anything like that without your say so. Got it?"

Sango nodded and watched as Inuyasha picked up Tetsusaiga and leaned it against his shoulder as he sat back down by the doorway. Even in the darkness, she could feel his eyes on her as she settled down and pulled the extra yukata up over her shoulders. More than ever, she felt incredibly grateful to Inuyasha for stepping in like he had, but at the same time she was embarrassed that she had wound up in the situation in the first place. Somehow, though, embarrassment didn't sem to be the right reaction to the sitution. Disgust, and a feeling of being violated stirred in the background and she pushed them away. She had never seen Miroku act the way that he had tonight. At least, not with her. As she thought about it, she remembered the feelings of panic and helplessness that had overwhelmed her at being unable to do anything to stop him. If Inuyasha hadn't come outside...

Sango had always respected Inuyasha. Well, that wasn't entirely true. When they had first started traveling together, Inuyasha had been rude to the point of impossible. Even his very presence had annoyed her, infuriated her or even made her feel insulted. In the end, it had been Miroku who had explained Inuyasha's true motivation for acting that way around her. The hanyou had only wanted her to have something else to focus on, a reason not to fall into even deeper depression with everything that had happened around her. It was an interesting distraction, to say the least. After she understood why he had been acting that way, they had reached an understanding. Over the past couple of years, they had become close friends. The bond they shared from a mutual sense of loss was one that none of the others in their group could relate to. Just as Sango had lost her village and her family, Inuyasha had lost both of the people who had ever really loved him, Kikyo and his mother.

Sighing, Sango turned over and faced the wall. All of these thoughts seemed to underline a single fact. She was incredibly glad that she knew the hanyou, and tonight he had saved her. Again. Even though Miroku's presence outside made her uneasy, she knew that Inuyasha wouldn't let him in. With the hanyou there, she knew she was safe. Sango closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer of thanks to whatever gods might be listening.

)(*)(

Rain poured down outside sending tiny waterfalls tumbling off the ridges on the roof. It was morning, and the weather outside matched the attitudes of the people inside the small building eerily well. The atmosphere was tense, however, the conversation was surprisingly mellow as they discussed where they intended to go.

Despite all of his talk about leaving, Miroku had decided to stay with them for a short while longer. That was a fact that had not been met happily, but the annoyance had been mitigated for the time being by food. After an initial shouting match, they had all settled down to a breakfast of dried fruits and meats. Inuyasha, Sango and Shippou had opted to sit on one side of the room, leaving a clear distance between them and the monk. As Miroku's eyes landed on Sango, the taijiya shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Inuyasha watched her out of the corner of his eyes and started talking. "Even with the fake shards, we still have to find Naraku. We can just keep looking for him the way we have been, we're sure to come across something eventually."

"That's all well and good, Inuyasha, but in the mean time we still have to deal with these corrupted shards." Miroku said, sipping at a cup of tea irritably.

"There is one option that we haven't considered yet," Sango said.

"What's that?" Miroku asked.

Sango looked around and then shruggd slightly. "Why not try going back to my village?"

"What good would that do?" Inuyasha blinked.

"Well, my village is where the real jewel originally came from. Perhaps by trying to learn more about what the real jewel is capable of, we can try and discover whether or not Naraku has used it and why. We might also be able to find out more about the fake shards that we have. There is also a chance that Midoriko may allow us to harbor the shards in her shrine. She has let us take them in before, and I would be willing to guess that she probably knew that they weren't real. Perhaps we could keep the shards there until we find a better solution."

Inuyasha was skeptical. "Do you really think that will work?"

"It's worth a try." Miroku sighed and put his cup down. Slowly, he stood up and brushed some of the dust off of his robes as he looked out at the dismal weather outside. "If we want to make any progress, we should leave soon. The rain may be bad now, but it looks as though it may get worse."

)(*)(

Miroku's prediction turned out to be more like a bad omen as they set out on their journey. The already wet day had drenched them in a series of downpours. By mid-afternoon, everyone was miserable. All it took was Shippou asking when they were going to be stopping before they decided to suspend their travel for a night. The small village that they had been passing through contained a large house belonging to a wealthy man. It had only taken a short exorcism and they had been allowed to stay in an empty room at the back of the building. It was in poor repair, and very drafty, but they were all thankful to be out of the rain. Everyone settled down for the evening with lttile conversation. The obvious separation in the group hadn't helped as they all settled down to sleep. Sango had curled up against Kirara's massive form, not far from Inuyasha. Shippou dozed lazily in the corner. Miroku sat alone on the other side of the small fire that they had build in the pit at the center of the room. Even with the uncomfortable silence that surrounded them, they all drifted off into an uneasy, sleep.

Inuyasha's eyes opened slowly in the darkness. His ears twitched in every direction as he attempted to figure out what had woken him up. It was still the middle of the night. The rain outside had stopped, the fire had died and everyone was still sleeping. Barely audible, he could just make out the sounds of footsteps on the soaked ground outside. His nose twitched, sniffing the air, trying to see who...

In less than a second, the peaceful atmosphere in the room was gone as Inuyasha sprang to his feet. Sango's eyes snapped open at the sound and she turned to watch the hanyou disappear through the doorway. Outside, not fifty feet away, Kohaku was quickly making his way out of the village and into a thick section of forest. Easily visible dangling from his fist, the small bottle of corrupted shards glinted dimly in the night. He paused as Inuyasha exited the building and turned his head to gauge the distance between them.

)(*)(

Sango approached the door with caution. Looking outside, she was shocked to see her brother's brown eyes boring into her own. His eyes had the same glazed, dead look to them that they always had when he was under Naraku's control. He was here to take the shards to his master. The boy turned and fled into the forest at the sight of Sango. Not missing a beat, Inuyasha flew after him. With no time to even think, Sango grabbed Hiraikotsu and her katana and ran out the door as fast as her feet could carry her. Kirara heard her mistress leave, and quickly followed after her. Sango swung up onto the back of the giant cat as if it were instinct. The pair headed silently into the darkness.

The forest here was tangled, with brush and brambles only spacing out occasionally to reveal small pastures and clearings. The maze-like overgrowth made travel at ground level almost impossible. From above, Sango could tell when she had caught up with her brother and the hanyou. Even in the darkness, Inuyasha's clothing stood out like a beacon. As Kirara came down to the ground, Sango jumped off and shouted, "Kohaku!"

"He's fine," Inuyasha said. "But he's got the shards. Kohaku, why-- shit. Sango, get down!"

The hanyou grabbed her and knocked her to the ground, just in time to avoid being hit by the heavy blades of air that flew at them. Looking up fromher position flat on the ground, Sango could make out the form of Kagura floating off the ground. It was a miracle that she hadn't noticed her before, even with the darkness. Inuyasha was still crouched beside her, growling. "Take care of Kohaku. I'll deal with Kagura."

"I will do my best." Sango nodded as she got to her feet. She picked up Hiraikotsu, holding the weapon in front of her, and turned to face her little brother.

"Kohaku," she said, quietly. No expression of recognition flickered across his face. No sign of any emotion at all, just a blank and unfeeling stare that seemed to cut right through her. He had tucked the bottle of shards into the taijiya uniform he was wearing and had started swinging his scythe slowly at his side. To anyone else it might have looked almost nonchalant. Sango knew better. Kohaku had never been very skilled in comparison to many of the other taijiya in the village. However, he was young. The knowledge was there, if not the experience. Under Naraku's control, his aim became much more deadly. Combined with his knowledge, practical or not, the mixture of the two was absolutely lethal. Tightening her grip on her boomerang, Sango took a step forward. "Why did you take the shards, Kohaku?"

The weapon in his hands flew through the air in response to the question, striking the giant bone weapon hard enough to knock her back a couple of inches. As the boy pulled his weapon back to his hand, Sango took a half-hearted swipe at him with Hiraikotsu. "Please, Kohaku! Just give me back the shards. Why does Naraku need them, anyway?"

Kohaku dropped all pretenses and began an all out attack. His blade was faster than she had remembered. A stinging sensation crawled down her arm as the tip of it managed to slice through her uniform. The pain from the wound was nothing compared to the sick, aching feeling that consumed her as she watched Kohaku try again to strike her. _This isn't doing any good_, she thought. Moving swiftly, Sango dropped Hiraikotsu and pulled her katana out. Her thin blade was no match in size for the bulky scythe, but the two weapons counteracted each other. Every time the blade of his weapon flew towards her, she deflected it and watched it fly back towards its owner. Kohaku prepared to launch the attack again. Sango sighed. Watching her little brother attack her was killing her inside. "Stop this! Please!"

Before she could even look for a response, Sango was forced to jump sideways as the sound of one of Kagura's attacks heading for her echoed thrugh the trees. A second later, the wind ripped trenches in the ground where her feet had been. Confident in Inuyasha's skills, Sango hadn't even been watching his half of the fight. Kagura was smirking, and she still hovered two dozen feet in the air, safely supported by her feather. "Sorry, taijiya. It's been fun playing with you, but it's time to go. Kohaku, let's get out of here."

"Dammit, Kagura!" Inuyasha shouted. "You hate Naraku, too, right? Why are you doing this?"

Sango's eyes snapped up as Kohaku suddenly stopped his assault and quickly ran across the ground until he was just under the floating form of Kagura's transport overhead. Slowly, the feather decended to a more manageable level, just low enough for Kohaku to leap up and catch a few strands to pull himself up with. Sango ran after her little brother, but he had already gotten too high in the air for her to reach him. Sango looked for Kirara to help her, but the feline was nowhere to be seen.

"I do what I want, hanyou." Kagura's eyes narrowed in response to Inuyasha's question. She wasted no time in getting back to a safer distance in the air, ready to rejoin her master. Inuyasha's voice stopped her.

"Wait a minute, damn you. Why does Naraku want the shards in the first place? Is he really immortal? You would know, Kagura! Help us out here!"

"Like I give a damn," she said, but she paused. The tone in her voice was bitter. "I don't care what Naraku is or isn't. Even if I did know, I probably wouldn't tell you. If you really want to know, go ask that undead miko."

"Kikyo...?" Inuyasha's eyes widened and Sango felt her jaw go slack at this response. Kikyo was the key? What did she know? Sango opened her mouth to shout a question at the wind youkai, but the words died on her tongue. Kohaku still dangled from the fronds of the feather, the tiny filaments holding him up despite his weight.

In a split second, that changed. Kohaku started to pull himself up, swinging one leg to the sky. Almost immediately, Sango could tell something was wrong. He didn't make it into the feather. His left hand fell from where it had kept a firm grip on the float and Kohaku's face turned to look at Sango. His eyes were clear, alive. Quietly, his soft voice called out, "Aneue." A harsh wave of black energy pulsed out from his body and he fell to the ground with a crunching sound. His body was as limp as a rag doll, limbs splayed at odd angles. Kohaku was dead.

It took a moment for Sango to register what had just happened. Her eyes took in the sight of the crumpled black, green and yellow uniform on the ground. His eyes were closed, but his head was resting on the ground at a strange incline. He didn't move. A moment of silence passed through the clearing, and then Sango screamed. "KOHAKU!"

"Ah, shit." Kagura muttered as Sango started running to close the short gap betweeen her brother's body and herself. With a flick of her fan, agura summoned a column of wind and Kohaku's small form was lifted off the ground and into the feather. "Sorry, not today!" In an instant, she was gone.

Sango stood rooted to the spot where Kohaku's body had been only a moment before. She felt hollow as the realization began to truly sink in. She had seen death too many times to not know. He wasn't unconscious, he hadn't been in a trance... he was dead. Kohaku was dead. She had known this was coming, that it would have to happen eventually. Really, she had. Kohaku was dead. "Kohaku..." her voice was quiet as she looked up at the sky to the point where Kagura had vanished, heading east. "Kohaku!" Without warning, a wall of emotion completely overwhelmed her. Any sense of reason she had vanished as she cried, "KOHAKU! I'm coming to get you!" Sango's fist tightened it's grip on her katana and she charged blindly forward, straight into a wall of thorns.

"Sango!" Inuyasha was horrified. He had watched what had happened but he hadn't even been able to react to the situation before Sango had lost it. He had only taken two steps towards her before she had lifted the sword and charged into the brush. "Goddammit! Stop that!"

The area had smelled like blood before. The cut on Sango's arm had been pretty bad, but that was quickly worsening with the cuts that she was getting from the stickers and burrs that scratched at her face, hands and even her feet. Inuyasha ran to her, afraid that she might cut herself on the katana. Right now, she was a danger to herself. The taijiya wasn't even hearing him, she was too lost in the emotions that flooded through her. "Cut it out, Sango! You're going to hurt yourself! Fuck! Come here." He grabbed her wrist with one hand and the handle of the sword with the other, swiftly pulling it out of her hands and tossing it to the side. Quickly, he grabbed Sango by her arm and pulled her back from the bushes that she had been trying to get through.

"Don't stop me, Inuyasha! KOHAKU!" Sango struggled against him, turning every ounce of fury that she felt at the moment on the hanyou. She pounded her fists against his chest and tried to push his hands and arms away. Inuyasha kept one hand on her arm and stood there, letting her take out her frustration on him as he waited for her to calm down. After a few moments, the force of her threats lessened and her words had become a constant murmur of Kohaku's name. Her punches against his chest had slowed, and then stopped as her hands fisted in the material of his haori. Sango's knees went out from under her and she didn't object as Inuyasha sank to the ground, pulling her with him. It seemed as if everything that had happened over the past few days had all come crashing down on her at once, and no amount of effort could fend off all of the emotions that she felt just then. She didn't even care as she leaned against Inuyasha's chest and continued to cry.

"I'm sorry, Sango." Inuyasha held Sango in his arms, halfway knelt over like that for a few moments, letting her cry. His heart ached for her. He had never lost a brother but he knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. Carefully, and almost without thought, Inuyasha pulled her into his lap, much as his mother had done for him when he was little. She buried her face in his coat as her legs rested over one of his own. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her. He knew there was nothing that he could do, nothing he could say that would make the pain she was feeling lessen any. For now, this was what she needed. He could offer her this little piece of comfort. It seemed a bargain in exchange for what she had done for him throughout their friendship. He couldn't explain it, but he felt the need to help her. An expression of pain colored his face as he listened to the words that she just kept repeating under her breath. "He's dead, he's dead."

)(*)(

Not more than a dozen yards away, Miroku barely noticed as Kirara's tiny form padded up towards him through the underbrush. The feline had brought him here after dropping her mistress off but, by the time he had arrived, whatever enemies Inuyasha and Sango had been fighting were gone. The monk's dark eyes were now fixed on the scene that had greeted him when he had gotten there.

All he could see was the hanyou, sitting in a clearing with Sango pulled very close in his lap. His arms were wrapped around her as he pulled her close and she had her head buried at his chest. Inuyasha's hand carefully stroked her hair as he whsipered to her. The taijiya held onto him with a desperation that Miroku had only dreamed of.

Miroku's fist tightened on the rosary beads covering his palm. Turning quietly, he walked back into the night.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

There was no way to tell how much time had passed. The sky above the trees was turning from black to gray, and the birds were beginning to sing. In Inuyasha's lap, Sango was quiet now. If her eyes hadn't been open, he might have thought that she had fallen asleep. Her breathing was deep and even, she had stopped crying. Even so, Inuyasha still ran his fingers through her hair as he held her. She had given up on fighting the feeling of his arms around her at some point during the long night. Now, she rested her head against his chest and gave into the comfort that he offered.

For his part, Inuyasha had started to feel a little guilty. No matter how much he might try to deny it, he knew that it wasn't because he had been keeping her out here in the middle of a forest all night, on the damp ground with the chill creeping in. The hanyou looked down at Sango as she leaned up against him and he knew they really should go back to the room they had been staying in. The strong smell of blood still seeped from the cut on her arm. It had stopped bleeding, but it still needed to be cleaned and bandaged properly. She should have been resting on a futon, under a warm yukata, rather than curled up in his lap like she was. It couldn't have been that comfortable. For her, at least. As much as Inuyasha wanted to deny it, he really enjoyed holding her.

"Sango," he whispered, quietly. He wasn't even completely certain that she was still awake. "We need to go back to the room, you know."

She stayed silent for a moment. A soft sigh passed her lips as she turned her face away from him. "It's always going to be like this, isn't it?"

Inuyasha wasn't entirely certain what she meant. "Like what?"

"We're never going to kill Naraku. We will just keep walking and fighting, and people will just keep dying. Everyone that means anything, they'll be gone. Just like Kohaku, just like my father." Calm though she was, Sango could still feel the anger and sadness of the night. The fact that she wasn't entirely certain that Kohaku's death was the cause of it only made it worse. She could not pinpoint the cause. She just felt overwhelmed, much as she had when Miroku had assaulted her. It just seemed as if everything had piled on top of everything else and then all of it had come crashing down at once. Kohaku had simply been the last straw.

She had known for a very long while that he was dead. Inuyasha's promise to save him had meant a lot to her, but Kohaku had died the night that Naraku had forced him to kill their family and friends. His death tonight, while sad, had actually come as something of a relief. He could finally find peace.

Besides, she told herself, he had never even really been alive after that night. He had just been Naraku's puppet. It had been a story that they had seen played out repeatedly over the past few years. Sango was, more than anything, very much afraid of seeing that happen to someone else that she knew. Anyone else. Being a taijiya meant taking control of the situation but, for once in her life, Sango had found herself in a situation that she could not control.

Inuyasha leaned down and rested his chin on the top of her head as he tightened his arms around her. Holding her like that was probably too intimate, but she didn't fight it. His thoughts ran over the past few years and all of the family and friends that they had lost. In his mind, it seemed as though they didn't know anyone who hadn't lost a friend or a relative. Every loss, every single death that he could think of, had been caused by Naraku. Sometimes directly, but more often than not it was the games he played. Games that ended in death.

Inuyasha wished that he could tell Sango that, no, everything would be fine. That they wouldn't lose anyone else. A year ago, he might have. Everything had been so uncertain lately. The Shikon no Tama had been their goal for as long as Inuyasha could remember. Along with the destruction of Naraku, it was something that they had worked tirelessly towards. Now, they weren't even certain that either goal was possible. Naraku's demise, which they had been so sure of only weeks ago, now seemed out of reach. With so many changes, Inuyasha couldn't even fathom what the future would bring.

"I don't know, Sango." Inuyasha said. His answer was heartfelt and honest. "But no matter what happens, I'll still be here with you."

"Really?"

"Really." Inuyasha nodded slightly. "After all, Sango, you've done the same for me."

"Do you really think I could have done anything else, Inuyasha?" Sango asked, her voice soft. "You saved me from Naraku. I would have died that day if you hadn't done what you did."

Against her, Sango could feel Inuyasha's shoulders shrug. His arms felt good wrapped around her. The hanyou said, "Other people would have left. Other taijiya probably would have tried to kill me."

"I did try to kill you," she reminded him. She could feel his lips breaking into a smile against her hair.

"Yes, you did." Despite the seriousness of the situation, he chuckled as he recalled the events of that day. "You probably would have, if I hadn't saved you. You seem to make a habit out of getting yourself in trouble."

"Perhaps." Sango couldn't deny that fact. She had stolen Tetsusaiga at one point, in a misguided attempt to save her brother, and she could think of a dozen other situations in which she had found herself in too deep to solve the problem herself. Sango didn't like feeling as though she needed help. "You don't have to keep saving me, you know."

"Yes, I do." Inuyasha's tone was serious again.

"Why?"

"I don't think I could live with myself if you died, especially knowing I could have prevented it," Inuyasha admitted. His voice was quieter than hers now. "You're important to me."

Sango could feel a slight blush creep across her cheeks in response to the comment. She knew he hadn't meant it the way she took it, but the reaction was unavoidable. The taijiya knew she shouldn't be comfortable with any of this; talking to him like she was, Inuyasha holding her, especially sitting the way she was. Regardless, as the depression and panic of the night started to fade, Sango felt incredibly grateful to him. At that moment, sitting like this with Inuyasha didn't seem out of place. She could be upset about that later. Sango leaned closer to Inuyasha and asked quietly, "I know we should go back now, but can we stay here a little longer?"

"Of course."

)(*)(

Even Sango hadn't been able to stay awake the entire night. No more than a few minutes had passed after the conversation before Sango was asleep, her breathing deep and even against Inuyasha's chest. He was glad that she was able to rest. The night had not been kind to her and she would probably be sore in the morning. He knew that he would have to wake her to get that arm of hers bandaged, but for now she could sleep. Inuyasha stood carefully and carried her back to the room.

When they arrived, he could tell that something wasn't quite right. The door to their quarters was almost closed, with only an inch or so left between the wood of the frame and the wall itself. There was no way to be sure, but he had figured that they had left the door open behind them when they left. It wasn't as if they had taken the time to close it. That must mean that the others were awake.

Inside, Inuyasha found Shippou and Kirara sitting together on the floor and playing with a spinning top. As soon as Inuyasha was inside, Shippou dove for him, squealing. "Inuyasha! You're back! I didn't know where anyone was!"

"Hey, hey. Calm down." Inuyasha said, looking down at the little kitsune. "Where's Miroku?"

Shippou whimpered, though he seemed a little calmer with Inuyasha and Sango there. "I woke up this morning and everybody was gone! It was just me here. And then Miroku came back, and he was really, really angry. It was scary! He packed his stuff up and said that he was leaving, and then he just... left! And then-- what's wrong with Sango?"

The kitsune blinked as he first took notice of the taijiya, still dressed in her traveling clothes that now had a large blood stain down the right arm. "Is she okay? What happened?"

Inuyasha sighed heavily and pulled Sango a little closer to him. "Sango's..." he paused. He couldn't really say she was okay. Figuring that honesty was the best policy, Inuyasha decided to go ahead and tell Shippou what had happened. "Kohaku showed up last night, he stole our shards. Sango and I went after him while you guys were sleeping. We ran into Kagura. Kohaku's dead."

"Dead?" Shippou squeaked in disbelief.

Inuyasha nodded. He wondered whether or not he should just sit down and keep Sango in his arms, rather than trying to lay her down on her futon. He didn't want to reopen her wound or wake her up. At the same time, he really shouldn't want to keep holding her like this. She would sleep fine on the mattress, and if he was worried about her, she wouldn't be more than a few feet away. Inuyasha was slightly bothered by the fact that he had even considered not putting her down in the first place. After all, it wasn't like he had a reason to be as concerned as he was. He certainly wasn't obligated to keep such a close eye on her. Sango was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. He shook his head to clear his mind of the disturbing thoughts, afraid to look at the reasons behind them.

Inuyasha walked over to her futon and eased her down onto the mattress. In her sleep, Sango turned and searched for the missing warmth as he pulled away. He reached down and pulled one of the blankets that she had been using up over her shoulders, wrapping it around her. Satisfied, he moved to resume the position he had kept by the door.

The entire night had been a disaster. Kohaku was dead. On top of that, Kouga's shards had been taken. Unable to stop himself, Inuyasha's eyes wandered over to where Sango was sleeping. He had promised her that they would save Kohaku, but it hadn't been possible, in the end. Now, all that he could do was see that the boy's life hadn't been lost in vain.

Kagura had said that Kikyo had the answers. What could Kikyo possibly know that could help them? Myouga had told them that it was Kikyo's own mistaken belief in the fake jewel that had caused the entire situation to come about. If that were true, Inuyasha didn't see how Kikyo could help them. It had taken Myouga years to find out about the false Shikon no Tama, and Kikyo had never alluded to anything but the shards.

Looking around at the room, Inuyasha wondered idly where Miroku had gone during the night, and why he had been so angry before he left. More than likely, the houshi had gotten turned down by another one of the women in town. Probably the house owners daughter. It was a miracle they hadn't been thrown out yet. Had he really gone for good?

The hanyou considered that possibility. It was true that it was probably better that he had decided to leave while no one else was there. At the same time, the monk had really shitty timing. Sango had just lost her little brother, and now the man that had promised to marry her had simply up and walked out of her life. Inuyasha was not looking forward to delivering that piece of information when the taijiya woke up. The monk hadn't shown up to the fight to help, either. They must have made a lot of noise leaving, but Inuyasha guessed that Miroku had probably slept right through it, and then wandered off to see what young women might be awake when he woke up later in the night. It wouldn't be the first time. Only time would tell if he was really gone for good.

On the futon, Sango was still tossing and turning, waking up when she wasn't able to get comfortable. Her eyes blinked open in the early light of morning as she rolled over onto her back and then pushed herself up to a sitting position. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Only a few minutes," Inuyasha said. "You should try to get some rest."

"No, I've rested enough. I turned in early yesterday, anyway, before..." Sango fell silent as she considered everything that had happened during the night. The images were still vivid in her mind, but the pain was starting to fade. Shippou wandered over to her and gave her a hug.

"Sango," the tiny fox said, "I'm sorry about your brother. I should have been there to help."

"Shippou," Sango hugged him back, smiling at his sincerity. "You did just fine. It's not your fault, there was nothing you could have done."

Inuyasha watched the two of them and found himself smiling. The little fox would be a good comfort to her. Kirara was also curled up beside her mistress, purring and making Sango smile. Inuyasha debated whether or not to break the news about Miroku. She would have to find out sooner or later, and she was bound to have noticed that he wasn't around. However, it was also terrible timing. He still couldn't believe the monk had such poor timing. I'll kill him if we ever see him again, the hanyou thought. Sango was going to be crushed when she finally got the news.

"You really should get that arm fixed up, you know." Inuyasha said. "Want some help with it?"

"Help with bandaging my arm?" The cut was fairly high, almost to her shoulder, a fact that Inuyasha probably hadn't considered when he had made the offer. The thought of having to slide her clothing down far enough to get Inuyasha's help made her blush. "Thank you, Inuyasha, but I think I can take care of it myself."

"Suit yourself." The hanyou raised an eyebrow at the blush that was now coloring the taijiya's face. Why on earth was she blushing? "I'll go ahead and get food out, then."

"Wah! Inuyasha, you meanie! You're going to eat all the food." Shippou protested.

"Am not, brat." Inuyasha said, glaring. "We're going to share. Like always."

"Like always?" Sango said, her voice incredulous. "I think you'd eat everything if you didn't have the rest of us here."

"That's right, that's right! Inuyasha goes like this when he's eating!" Shippou made a face, stretching his mouth as wide as he could and then making chomping motions.

"Oh, that's a very good impression, Shippou." Sango raised her eyebrows, glad for the distraction and already getting started on cleaning her armup. It was subtle, but she was smiling, even if it looked forced. "That looks just like you, Inuyasha."

"Oi." Inuyasha responded in his best warning tone, but even he couldn't help smiling.

)(*)(

Breakfast was composed of the same dried fruits they'd been accustomed to over the past week. They'd managed to supplement their diet with some venison jerky that they had managed to barter off of the house's owner. It wasn't a feast, exactly, but it was survivable and definitely a good thing since they couldn't afford to buy anything in town. As the meal progressed, so did the discussion of plans for the day. Inuyasha had wanted to change their original plan of action, figuring that a trip back to Sango's village probably wouldn't help Sango's state of mind any. He didn't want to see her have to face another reminder of last night's loss. Much to his surprise, Sango still wanted to continue.

"My village could provide information about the Shikon no Tama that we might not have, especially with the changes that have been happening with the fake jewel." She paused to take a sip of water. "Besides, I also want to put a small grave with the rest of our villagers for Kohaku."

"Okay." Inuyasha took a bite of jerky and swallowed it quickly. "What do you make of what Kagura said about Kikyo?"

"Kagura is untrustworthy, but..." Sango bit her lip and thought about that for a moment. "Kikyo's connection to the fake jewel is incredibly strong. If she has discovered that the jewel that was burned with her body wasn't real, it's possible she may know more about it or even the real jewel."

"Keh." Inuyasha snorted. "Even if that were true, I doubt she'd tell us, anyway."

Shippou took a bite out of a dried mushroom. After swallowing, he asked, "How are we going to look for her, anyway? On the way to your village, Sango?"

"The only thing we can really do is ask people we pass about miko that they aren't familiar with but have seen. It's not much, but it has lead us to her in the past," Sango said. "Either way, we'll need to leave soon. If we wait too long, we won't get far. We could fly on Kirara, but if we're looking for rumors of Kikyo, that's counterproductive."

Figuring that he had put it off long enough, Inuyasha looked at her and said, "Miroku left."

"What?"

"When I brought you back this morning, it was just Shippou and Kirara here in the room," Inuyasha said.

Shippou nodded and added, "Miroku came back this morning and said he was leaving."

"I see." Sango looked away, towards the door. She wasn't really sure how to react. He had told her that he was going to leave, and he had. Some part of her had wanted him to stay. If he had meant what he said, about wanting her to live with him, wouldn't he have stayed? Then again, Miroku had always been very good at running away, so it really shouldn't have surprised her. She could feel the pain in her heart starting to creep in as the realization began to sink in.

Over the past three years, she had tolerated the monk. Over time, she had even fallen in love with him. She had promised him the rest of her life after everything with Naraku had ended. And, in the space of time it took him to pack his things and walk out, he had completely negated all of it.

Inuyasha watched her face as she considered the new information. He wanted to tell her that Miroku would be back, or that they would go find him. They had before. At the same time, Inuyasha very much did not want to bother. Not all that long ago, Inuyasha hd counted Miroku as a close friend. The monk, while he was a total pervert, had been a good fighter with a good head on his shoulders. Inuyasha had watched as the monk had gone from nothing from a scheming thief to a man with a goal.

At some point during the past couple of months, though, he had started going back to his old ways. Promises that he had made were pushed aside and uneccesary risks were taken, all in the pursuit of Naraku. Whatever respect Inuyasha had left for Miroku had gone out the window when he had caught the monk practically forcing himself on Sango. Inuyasha could feel the anger in him start to rise at the memory of that night. How frightened she had been, the look of terror in her eyes. He never wanted to see her like that again. It took all of his willpower just to stop the growl forming in the back of his throat as the images came to him.

Looking at her now, Inuyasha could remember that they had all been hopeful when Miroku had asked the taijiya to stay with him. Surely, he had been turning a corner for the better. Looking at her face now, though, with the tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes, it was obvious that even that had meant nothing to the perverted monk. The hanyou was amazed that she could stay as composed as she was. In her place, he probably wouldn't have been able to. Even Shippou had fallen silent as Sango thought about what Inuyasha had told her. Slowly, Inuyasha asked, "Are you okay?"

"No." Sango reached up with one hand and wiped the tears out of both of her eyes. Then, slowly, she turned to look at Inuyasha, a fake smile carefully in place. "Well, shall we get going?"

)(*)(

It had taken them longer than they had anticipated to make the trip. It had been faster going when they were riding on Kirara, rather than walking the entire distance. They had debated doing just that, in the hopes of running into Kikyo, but finding her wasn't a guarantee and they could always continue on foot from the village. They finally reached the road that lead up to the village the next morning.

Sango's village looked much the same as it always had. The walls around the town were still standing for the most part, but the ruins of the buildings were looking worse for the wear because of the weather. The few structures that had survived the destruction were beginning to suffer from standing empty for so long. Grass and vines had started to creep in, and they could all see where animals had taken up residency in the town.

Sango still had dreams of resurrecting the village. Rebuilding the walls and the buildings, cleaning out the debris and breaking back some semblance of its former glory. Even as she looked at the charred rubble that remained and the few buildings that still stood, she could feel that same desire and pride flowing back into her.

They spent most of the morning just settling in. They had planned on being there at least for the night, and it had become a habit to clean up the village as best they could whenever they visited. Inuyasha and Shippou helped to clear away pieces of the wall that were starting to crumble onto the graves. Sango picked flowers and laid them out over the graves. They pulled out brambles and bushes that had started to overtake the perimeter. This was the best way that they knew to show respect for the dead, taking care of a town that no one lived in. After everything had been cleaned up to the best of hteir ability, Sango went into one of the buildings. When she returned, she was carrying a pile of black cloth and a set of green and yellow armor.

"We all had several sets of armor," Sango said, when Inuyasha looked at her questioningly. "It was always getting broken, and so we would make it ahead of time. That way, no one would ever be left unprotected."

Inuyasha nodded solemnly. Quietly, he asked, "Sango, why didn't you do this for your father as well?"

Kneeling in the dirt beside the last of the graves, still clearly marked, Sango dug a hole in the soft earth with her hands. She pulled the large kerchief off of her back. The knapsack was empty now. It would do well for her purposes. She laid the square of cloth onto the ground and folded it around Kohaku's armor. Carefully, she lowered it into the hole and covered it. When she was done, she stood up, brushing her hands to get the dirt off. She turned to Inuyasha and smiled sadly. "This town is my father's grave. He poured his life and his blood into it. That I take care of it is enough. He would have wanted that."

Inuyasha nodded and looked down at the newly formed symbolic grave that Sango had created for Kohaku. He realized that Sango probably wanted a moment alone and turned awkwardly to wander over to where Shippou and Kirara were playing.

Sango watched him walk away and sighed quietly to herself as she turned her gaze back to the line of graves and then to the rest of the town. It seemed like only yesterday that she and Kohaku had played games in the streets together. People had talked on porches, worked around fires. Even now, some part of her still expected to see her father come walking around one of the descimated buildings, ready to tell her that things happened to even the strongest taijiya, and that they would work hard to rebuild their town.

Even six months ago, thoughts like that would have brought tears to her eyes. With time, though, the sadness had passed. A sense of loss still covered every inch of the ground here, but it wasn't the same as it had been. She and Miroku had discussed coming here, after everything was done. It hadn't been set in stone, but it was a possibility that they had considered. Miroku. As her thoughts turned to the monk, Sango could feel a sort of nausea turning in the pit of her stomach. It was beyond her how anyone could do what he did, ask what he had of her and then turn around and leave without saying a word.

Even so, there was a voice in the back of her mind telling her that he had changed. She and Kagome had talked about it, from time to time. Kagome had told her that when they had first met Miroku he had been even more of a scoundrel than the one Sango knew. Sango hadn't really believed it, but she had always wondered what that must have been like. Over the past few months, ever since he had proposed, a little bit of that had begun to seep back into his personality.

Women, the vice he had almost dropped for fear of Sango, became a problem again. There had rarely been a village that they had passed through in the past month where Sango hadn't caught him with some drunken girl. Rather than just scamming rich men out of a room and some of their food for a night, Miroku would show up with jewelry, money or fine clothes that he couldn't explain. Even conversation with him had taken a darker turn. Sango could remember the subject of death, suicide or murder coming up more than once. At the time, she had assumed it had been the circumstances they were in. Now, she honestly wondered if there might have been more to it.

The thought of him made her heart ache. She missed him, dearly. But not nearly as much as she should have, she admitted. His actions over the past month had been frightening, but over the past week he had succeeded in driving her even further away from him. Privately, Sango wondered if she didn't know the other reason that she wasn't so upset. Her eyes glanced over to the form of Inuyasha, standing nonchalantly in the late morning light, and she smiled.

It wasn't as if that mattered, though. After all, Inuyasha had promised Kagome that he would stay with her. Much as Sango had promised Miroku, though she was certain that the monk's absence had voided their agreement. With Inuyasha, she knew it was different. The hanyou still loved both Kikyo and Kagome. It was something that showed through no matter how much he tried to hide the emotions. Sooner or later, the hanyou would go through the well to find Kagome. When that happened, all that she would be left with were stolen moments. Memories of the feeling of Inuyasha's arms around her as he held her came flashing back and Sango sighed. She knew it would happen. She had come to terms with her emotions long ago. But, she reminded herself, she was a taijiya. She had the strength to ignore them and to push them away. When Inuyasha had been holding her, all of that strength seemed to melt away, even if only for a short while. Wistfully, she had hoped that, in time and with Miroku at her side, she could forget about the pale-haired hanyou. Miroku was gone now, but it didn't really change things. Inuyasha was still Inuyasha, and Kagome was still waiting. And, after all, if there was nothing you could do to change a situation, you had to endure it. And so she would.

Sango shook her head to clear her thoughts and turned to join Inuyasha and the others. The morning was coming to an end and the afternoon promised to be warm, even though clouds were quickly approaching. Perhaps the heat would take some of the chill out of the cave.

"You ready?" Inuyasha asked, petting Kirara for a second before standing up.

Sango nodded. "It's best to go in before it gets dark. It's a shame that we don't have the corrupted shards, they might have been helpful. I don't know how much we'll be able to discover without them."

"Keh." Inuyasha shrugged. "The shards would have just caused trouble. We don't need more youkai to deal with right now."

"True enough," Sango agreed. "Shall we get going?"

)(*)(

The entrance to the cave hadn't changed sine the last time they had visited, but they still felt uncomfortable around it. Inuyasha's nose twitched as he tried to find out if there was a youkai waiting for them in the depths of the cave. The second he caught the scent, his eyebrows flew up in surprise. Kikyo! That was definitely Kikyo's scent but it smelled old, almost decayed. Nothing like her normal scent. Even though she was dead, she didn't really smell that way. Since her resurrection, she had always smelled like, well, pottery. He glanced over to Sango to see if she had noticed anything, but the taijiya was just looking down into the depths of the cave expectantly, wondering if they would learn something new.

The inside of the cave was cool and quiet. The lengthy tunnel descended unevetfully before them as they worked their way down towards the figure of Midoriko at the bottom. It wasn't until only ten or so yards away that they noticed the dimly glowing light around the statue. Midoriko, however, was not glowing. As they approached, Kikyo stepped silently out from behind the figure, surrounded by her shinidamachuu. The floating bugs gave off the eerie light, throwing her face into sharp relief.

"Inuyasha," she said, inclining her head slightly towards them.

"Kikyo," Inuyasha and Sango said her name at the same time. They were both surprised to see her, even though Inuyasha had smelled her at the cave entrance. Kikyo, however, didn't seem to be surprised in the slightest. Then again, the miko had never seemed surprised about anything. Shippou ducked behind Inuyasha's leg, avoiding her gaze.

"So, you know about the fake jewel." It was a statement, not a question. Kikyo looked at each of them, as if she was trying to decide which of them had made the discovery.

"You know about it, too?" Sango spoke up, taking a step forward. She hadn't thought that Kikyo would know of the jewel, or at least not what it erally was. "Do you know what Naraku wants with it?"

"No." Slowly, Kikyo turned her dark eyes on Sango, acknowledging her. "I do not know what Naraku wants with the false Shikon no Tama. Only what he desires with the true jewel."

Inuyasha's eyes went wide. "He hasn't used it yet?"

"No." Kikyo turned to face him. "He is unable to use the jewel to wish for what he truly wants. It is unattainable."

"What does he want to wish for?" Sango was baffled. "We thought that immortality was his goal."

Kikyo's lips twitched into a mocking imitation of a smile, barely visible on her pale lips. "Naraku believes he has already achieved immortality. The measures he has taken to protect himself make that a virtual reality. Even if he wished for it, I do not know if the jewel would grant it. What he has wished for is even more difficult to obtain."

"What is it, then?"

"Myself."

"He wished for you? Why?" Inuyasha's eyes were deadly serious and his tone was concerned. Sango stepped back a little way to let him continue his dialogue with the undead miko.

"Naraku has wished for me even before he knew the jewel existed," Kikyo said. "It is only natural that he would continue that wish once a means to an end had fallen into his hands."

Quietly, Sango said, "But you don't want him to have you, and so it hasn't happened."

"Yes. You are correct. So long as I am alive, like this, he will never be able to complete his wish."

Silence fell over them as they all considered this information. Naraku had not achieved immortality through the jewel. In many ways, this was a very good thing. Magical immortality seemed like a much more daunting opponent, and likely an impossible one, than endless layers of protection. At the same time, if Naraku had gone to such extensive lengths as to be truly immortal even by the Shikon no Tama's standards, it was just as pointless as if he had wished for it. Now that they knew the true motive behind Naraku's possession of the jewel, they could use the information to try and find out why he still kept the jewel, if the wish was truly impossible. After all, Kikyo had said that while she was alive, he would never be able to use it. So why did he still keep it?

Quietly, Inuyasha voiced the question that they had all been wondering. "Kikyo, are you really dying?"

Kikyo's eyes widened momentarily but her expression quickly returned to her usual neutral gaze. "Yes. I tire of this half-life, Inuyasha. It may have been Naraku that killed me, but I still blame you for my death. If I had never met you, I would have lived to an old age and enjoyed a peaceful life. Even so, I find it very difficult to hate you."

Her expression softened slightly as she said the words. Inuyasha took several steps towards her. "What can I do? There has to be something, some way to keep you from going on, Kikyo, I--"

"No, Inuyasha." Kikyo granted him a rare smile. "My time will come soon." Looking at the others, she asked, "Where is Kagome?"

Whatever trance he had been in, Inuyasha seemed to shake himself out of it. He stood up straighter and looked over his shoulder, as if he expected to see the school girl there. "Kagome... decided to go home."

"That was a wise decision. Were she in this time, she might try to absorb my souls again, when I die." Kikyo gave them one last look and started to walk past them towards the entrance of the cave.

"Wait," Sango called. "I am sorry that I have to ask this, but what will happen to the fake jewel when you die? Weren't you the one that gave it power in the first place?"

Kikyo paused and turned to look at Sango over her shoulder. "That is true, but even I do not know what will happen to the jewel after my death. The real one or the false jewel. I still have some time left. I intend on using that time to try and dispose of both jewels. For good."

Without another word, Kikyo turned and vanished into the darkness that lead towards the way out.

)(*)(

They all watched her go with mixed feelings. After she had gone, they made a half-hearted attempt at searching the cave or information. It still remained filled with nothing but bones. The statue that had once been Midoriko stood silent and still, offering no help for them. They spent more than an hour looking for clues, inspecting youkai bones and observing Midoriko, as if she might come alive and give them all the answers. Whatever great revelation they had been expecting, it did not come.

When they finally made their way out of the cave, they discovered that they had spent more time inside than they had originally thought. It was late afternoon now. The heat of the day had abated, and it had been replaced with a gusty wind that started to bring a storm with it. Rain drops fell heavily from the sky, and the ground had already started to become muddy. Shippou and Kirara walked ahead, enjoying the dampness and a chance to splash in puddles.

"Inuyasha, are you okay?" Sango was concerned. Inuyasha had been unnaturally quiet since Kikyo had left, hardly saying a word and grunting instead of responding when he was asked questions. She had seen it before, whenever they ran into the miko, but she still felt concerned about him, even if it did make her sad.

"I'm fine." Inuyasha said. He didn't bother looking at her. His eyes were fixed on the gray storm clouds that were quickly gathering. For the moment, the rain was fairly light, but it was likely to change. "Maybe we should just turn in for the night. We're not going to find any inf--"

He froze as he heard a cracking sound. His ears strained, listening to see if he could hear that sound again. Had it just been his imagination.

"Inuyasha?"

"Oh, shit." Inuyasha said, just as a loud crash echoed in the forest at the base of the plateau. A flock of birds flew out of the trees, screeching. "Youkai!"

"Down below, in the forest?" Kirara!" Sango called to the cat. Quickly, Kirara came running towards her, transforming as she ran. "Whatever it is, it sounds like it's getting closer." Without waiting for a response from Inuyasha, the taijiya slung a leg over Kirara's back and flew off towards the sound.

"Inuyashaaaaaaaaa!" Shippou cried. "I'm coming with you!"

"Like hell you are. Get back to the village, it's safer there." He paused as Shippou's bottom lip started to quiver. "It's up to you to protect it."

"Okay!" Shippou bought the comment and took off towards the walls of the village. After making sure that the kitsune wasn't going to follow, Inuyasha ran towards the steep road that lead down into the forest. What he saw when he reached the edge of the plateau was enough to chill his blood.

"Inuyasha!" Sango called. Kirara hovered close enought aht Inuyasha was able to hop onto her back. Sango looked back and nodded at him to acknowledge his presence, even as she felt him slide up against her. "That's not just a youkai."

"It's Naraku." Inuyasha confirmed. The tentacles were visible even over the tree line. The massive limbs of flesh were writhing and wiggling against whatever it was fighting. There was no mistaking the smell that permeated the area. Even Sango could smell it.

"What is he doing here? There's nothing in the cave, and he's already got both jewels, there's nothing... he... could... possibly..." her voice trailed off as she realized what Naraku was after.

"Kikyo." Inuyasha's voice was bitter. "He's after Kikyo. She didn't react to the shards dying, which is what he was probably hoping for, and he couldn't get her with the real jewel. So, he's going to do things the hard way."

"Let's go take care of him before he can do any more damage."

Kirara flew them into the depths of the forest. When they were close enough to see what was happening they were met with an impressive sight.

Impassive as always, Kikyo was still managing to fire arrow after arrow with unrelenting grace and power. Tentacles were being flayed off of Naraku's body left and right. Naraku seemed smaller than the last time Inuyasha had seen him, he wondered if Naraku had suffered from the death of the fake jewels, as well. Inuyasha launched himself off of Kirara's back and down into the mass of appendages, pulling Tetsusaiga from its sheath as he went. Seconds after landing on the ground, Sango and Kirara were obscured from his view. If the puppet had seemed smaller from the air, it was massive once he was on the ground.

)(*)(

There were tentacles everywhere he looked. Tetsusaiga's blade moved furiously, spilling deadly acid onto the ground and unleashing clouds of fumes into the air. Inuyasha knew that he had to get to the main body, but he was so busy trying not to get hit or pinned to the ground that it seemed to be impossible. One of the larger limbs flew through the air and struck him in the side, sending him sprawling. "Fuck!"

"Ah, Inuyasha! How nice of you to join us." Naraku's voice caled, his torso twisted to face the hanyou, as Inuyasha pulled himself to his feet. Inuyasha glared up at him. Naraku's human torso perched precariously on the seething mass of flesh, disappearing underneath the fumes, only to appear again seconds later. His hair looked like liquid.

"Naraku! You bastard. What do you want? I'll kill you!" Inuyasha snarled. Naraku may have started out human, Inuyasha thought, but there was nothing but monster left.

Naraku's laugh was hearty and proud, as if he knew Inuyasha wouldn't be able to do any such thing. "Isn't it obvious, Inuyasha?" Tentacles marted and, though the mass of flesh, Inuyasha could see Kikyo. He felt his jaw slacken at the sight of the priestess. She looked as strong as she ever had, notching arrows faster than most humans would have been capable of and letting them fly. Even so, Naraku was moving his limbs ever closer to her.

"Don't you lay one slimy hand on her, Naraku!" Inuyasha shouted. He brought Tetsusaiga down on the nearest fleshy extensions of the monstrous body, hacking at the branches of flesh that surrounded him and trying to move closer to Kikyo. He had to save her. There was no way she was going to be able to keep Naraku away for good. All around him, it felt as if he was walking through a sea of living body parts. Tentacles melted and hands formed where nothing but slime had been before. Youkai reached out of the skin and flesh with claws and tried to grab him.

Suddenly, one long spike of flesh shot out of the mass and dug straight through Inuyasha's shoulder. The pain shot through him and he dropped Tetsusaiga at his side as he grabbed the mass of flesh with his hands and ripped it apart. Naraku laughed as Inuyasha pulled it out of his body, even as some of the fibers of the fire rat coat melted together from the miasma. Slashing and tearing with his claws, he cleared an area around Tetsusaiga and himself large enough tha he could get a good swing in with the sword. Attacking was almost impossible when he was being crowded from all directions.

"Inuyasha!" From across the field, Sango had seen what had happened. She caught Hiraikotsu as it flew back to her, sending a wave of fleshy spray flying into the air as it tore through a large section of Naraku's body. "We've got to finish this!"

"Attack the main form." Kikyo said, ignoring Sango completely. "This is not Naraku. This is only a puppet."

Inuyasha's eyes widened. A puppet? They hadn't run into one of Naraku's puppets in a long time. Naraku had taken to showing up in person the last few times that they had met up with him. Still, Inuyasha nodded and grabbed Tetsusaiga. At various places through out the wooded grove he knew that Kikyo, Sango and even Kirara were also fighting. He had to do his best and, if this was a puppet, it would be easy to finish it off.

He knew he had to hurry. The women were doing well, but he knew that Naraku was gaining ground on them. Globules of flesh were inching across the ground towards the miko, starting to melt together to form something sinister. Sango had already been hit twice by scythe-like tentacle formations. Her shoulder was bleeding freely. Ignorant of all of this, Kikyo notched another arrow and fired. Even Sango was getting ready to unleash Hiraikotsu again.

The second that Sango let go of Hiraikotsu, Inuyasha knew something was wrong. Sango let out a muffled cry as the bone weapon flew out of her hand awkwardly and a loud popping crack sounded from her arm as she released it. Inuyasha's eyes flew to her. The arm that Naraku had cut was the same one that she had injured not two days before, and it had given out after throwing Hiraikotsu one too many times. "Sango!" Even as he watched, two long, slender tentacles shot out of the pulsing mass of flesh in front of her. She blocked one with her good arm, but the second struck her in the head and knocked her face mask loose, sending her to the ground. Without her mask, Sango would be exposed to the deadly fumes and toxins that seeped from every inch of Naraku's body.

"Shit! Sango! Hang on!" Inuyasha gritted his teeth. Was Kikyo far enough out of the way that he could unleash Kaze no Kizu? He couldn't be sure. Right then, though, he didn't have time to contemplate choices. He knew that he would have to risk it. If he didn't do something, both Kikyo and Sango were going to be dead. No amount of trying to figure things out was going to help either of them. Right then, all he knew was that he couldn't stand to see Sango die.

"KAZE NO KIZU!" The hanyou brought the blade of Tetsusaiga down in a puddle of ooze that was inches from his feet. In a second, silence seemed to fall over the entire clearing in the wake of the roar that began at the tip of his blade and consumed everything in its wake. The surge of energy tore through the field, ripping limb from limb and shredding Naraku. When it hit the puppet's torso, Naraku's head was still laughing, grinning grotesquely at them as the pieces of skin peeled away from the skull like paper. Every piece of flesh dissolved as the body was eaten away by the attack. As the torso dissolved, the little wooden doll at the heart of it became visible. The second that Kaze no Kizu hit it, the doll broke into two pieces and fell to the ground. When it did, tentacles and pieces of flesh vanished as if it had never existed. All that was left were several severed limbs, pools of fluid and the fighters.

Further away than he thought she had been, Inuyasha could see Sango lying motionless on the ground. His mind barely registered Kikyo to his left, her form disappearing into the forest. His mind was focused completely on the taijiya at the other end of hte clearing. "Sango!" Surely, she couldn't be dead. Not Sango. Not now. A tight ball of fear curled into his stomach as he could feel his instincts telling him he was too late. She couldn't survive the poisonous gasses and all of that acid.

Barely even realizing that he was moving, his feet carried him across the field as fast as he could possibly go. Reaching Sango, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap, and looked at her face. Her mouth hung slack, her entire body was limp.

And then, she coughed. It was loud, and rough, and the most beautiful sound that Inuyasha had ever heard. Sango was alive. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him. "You're always too rough when you save people, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha could feel his entire body shaking with relief. She was still alive. Sango was safe. She was going to be fine. He lowered his head to his chest, letting his hari fall across his face so she wouldn't see the emotions alive in his expression. In his arms, Sango turned and frowned up at him, worried. "Inuyasha? Are you okay? Are you hurt? You shouldn't b--"

Inuyasha turned his eyes up to look at hers. His voice was coarse when he spoke. "I was worried about you idiot!"

And then he kissed her.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

A spark of electricity wound its way down Sango's spine as the feeling of Inuyasha's lips against hers registered in her mind. Almost instinctively, she could feel her wrist pulling upwards at the contact. The loud cracking sound of her hand hitting his face echoed throughout the clearing.

Inuyasha's eyes shot open as he yelped at the sudden pain. Pulling away slightly, he blinked at her. It hadn't really hurt that much, but the hanyou was startled. The look on Sango's face mimicked his own shocked expression. Holy crap! He had just kissed Sango. And she had slapped him.

Sango didn't make any move to remove herself from his arms. The rain that had continued to fall even while they had been fighting Naraku now seemed as loud as thunder in their ears. The soft droplets continued to pelt their skin as they looked at one another, neither one moving.

After a moment, the taijiya blinked and looked away from him. Her voice was quiet as she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Keh. Don't worry about it," Inuyasha's reply was almost a growl. His gaze was focused on the side of her face. He wasn't certain whether he should feel embarrassed or not. Everything had suddenly become incredibly awkward. For once, the hanyou really was not certain how to handle the situation. Either way, his concern was for her safety, first and foremost. His eyes drifted down to her arm. "How badly are you hurt?"

Sango shook her head to try and clear the thoughts running through it. She didn't answer for a second and tried to extricate herself from Inuyasha's arms, instead. Finally, she settled into a sitting position on the ground. Reaching a hand up to touch the sizable gash on her arm, she winced. She hadn't received a new cut during the fight, but the strain of throwing Hiraikotsu had reopened the wound she had received while they were fighting Kagura. Blood flowed freely from the wound but she doubted whether or not any bones were broken.

"It's nothing," she said.

Inuyasha looked at her and let out a loud sigh. Sitting on the ground now, she could barely hold her arm against her body. Tough though she might be, she wasn't invincible. He said, "Let me have a look at it.""What? Inuyasha, there's really no need to--"

"Be quiet and let me have a look." He was already cutting away the fabric around her arm. If her yukata wasn't ruined before, it certainly would be when he was done with it. The injury was worse simply for where it was. In addition to the cut that she had received from the fight with Kagura, throwing Hiraikotsu had pushed her muscles to the limit. This fight had not only reopened the wound, but the muscle strain would add to the healing work that her body needed to do. It could have been much worse, but he knew that it was imperative that they got her arm bandaged as soon as possible. The less work that she had to do with that arm, the less time it would take for her to recover. Inuyasha's voice was colored with annoyance as he growled, "Sheesh. You really need to take better care of yourself. We need to get you back up to where Shippou is. If we don't get that arm taken care of, you're going to have problems."

Ignoring the annoyance in his voice, Sango moved to stand. "That sounds like a good idea."

She paused as Inuyasha turned around, squatting on the ground so his back faced her. He leaned forward slightly. "Get on.

"I-Inuyasha, I am perfectly capable of walking, and--"

"Don't argue, just get on."

The taijiya hesitated for a moment, but it was easy to see that Inuyasha wasn't going to give up any time soon. She picked up Hiraikotsu and fastened it over her shoulder. Sighing, she climbed onto Inuyasha's back, wrapping her arms around his neck for a better hold. As Kirara trotted up beside them, she too climbed onto his back and settled on his shoulder. Even the little cat was exhausted.

Instead of running at full speed, Inuyasha walked quietly through the forest towards the plateau. The easy pace didn't jostle Sango's arm the way that running would have, even if it would take them longer to get back to the top.

Slowly, Sango relaxed against his back. Even through the thick material of his haori, she could feel the warmth of his body radiating outwards. In front of her, his face was mostly obscured by his hair. Sango wished she could see his face just then. What was he thinking about?

Her arms tightened around his neck a little as her own thoughts drifted over what had just happened. She could still feel the warmth of his hard lips pressed against her own, the soft taste of his skin. It was something that she had wanted for a long while, even if she had barely admitted it to herself. Given, she really hadn't expected it to happen quite like that. Or at all, for that matter.

Sighing, Sango shifted herself closer to the hanyou. Had he really meant to kiss her? It was hard to imagine any other scenario or reason, especially with the expression on his face after she had slapped him. He had looked almost... disappointed. Looking at him now, however, she really couldn't be certain. Perhaps she had imagined the expression. There was also the chance that it had been some sort of bizarre reaction to all of the stress that they had encountered recently. She knew that Inuyasha cared for her, but there was little doubt in her mind that he would never see her as anything but a good friend.

Unable to stop her mind from wandering, she thought back to only a few nights before, where Inuyasha had held her so tight in his lap until she had fallen asleep. That memory alone was enough to cause a wave of warmth to wash through her. Some part of her wished that Inuyasha would hold her like that every night. She had felt completely safe in his arms that night. Now, on his back, she still felt completely at ease.

)(*)(

When they reached the ruins of the taijiya village, Shippou was already waiting for them outside the walls. He looked like he was ready for a fight, an intense look of concentration on his face. When he saw Inuyasha coming up the path, however, he let the expression fall from his face and began to run towards them. "Inuyasha! Sango! Are you okay?"

Sango climbed off of Inuyasha's back, smiling as Kirara climbed onto her shoulder. "We're fine, Shippou."

"You did a pretty good job of keeping this place safe, Shippou," Inuyasha said. He doubted that anything had tried to come up and wreck the village, but he didn't see any harm in giving the kid a bit of an ego boost.

Regardless of whether or not anything had attacked, Shippou puffed his chest up proudly and smiled. "Of course I did!"

Sango smiled, even as she started inspecting the damage to her arm. Inuyasha's eyes watched her as she reached a hand up to the reopened wound on her arm, not blinking when she winced at the touch. Decisively, the hanyou said, "We need to get inside. The storm's going to get worse, and I'd rather not be out here when it hits."

)(*)(

The four of them walked slowly towards the building that had served as their shelter for the night. Inuyasha quickly built a fire, though he wasn't sure whether or not it would last since the roof was dripping from rain that leaked through. With the meager light provided by the fire, Sango began undoing the bandages on her arm and tending to the wound. She knew she wouldn't be able to throw Hiraikotsu for a few days, but a little muscle strain was much better than other injuries she could have sustained. She felt very grateful to Inuyasha for trying to protect her. When the others had settled in, she asked, "Well, what now?"

"There really isn't anything else we're going to learn up here, Inuyasha said, pulling food out of a knapsack and handing some to Shippou. "We went all through that cave and we didn't find a damn thing."

"We found Kikyo," Sango said quietly.

Shippou took a large bite out of some fruit and closed his eyes in thought. "Why was she in there anyway?"

"Keh. Like we have any clue," Inuyasha said. He had also been wondering that, but he had no answers. "There wasn't anything there but youkai bones and Midoriko."

"Do you want to go ahead and start looking for Naraku?" Sango asked.

Inuyasha thought about this for a moment and then said, "No. We should tell Kaede. She'll want to know... about Kikyo."

"I don't understand," Sango started, "why Naraku needs both jewels to get Kikyo. Or why he is so obsessed with her. That worries me."

The expression on Inuyasha's face was solemn, almost resigned. He looked at Sango and then let his eyes drift down to the worn out slats of wood beneath his bare feet. "Kikyo... has that effect on people. She always has. Even when she was alive, I think, people wanted to be near her."

"Hey, Inuyasha... Myouga said that Kikyo put some of her energy into the fake jewel, right?" Shippou said suddenly, between bites.

"Yeah, he did. What about it?"

"Well, I was thinking... if Kikyo put some of her energy in there maybe Naraku needs that to get her, even if the jewel does grant his wish. Like... a wish seed," Shippou said.

Inuyasha frowned. "I don't see how that would make a difference."

"I do." Sango looked at Inuyasha. "Even if the jewel can grant a wish, it may have an easier time if it has a starting point to go off of. Much as many monks need their staves and sutra scrolls, having something physical to work from can help. The fake jewel may work as a seed of energy, the starting point for giving Naraku what he wants."

"Even if Kikyo dies?"

"I don't know, Inuyasha. Like you, all I can do is guess." Sango sighed and leaned back against a wall. "Regardless, we need to figure out what we're going to do. You want to tell Kaede?"

"I think she deserves to know," Inuyasha replied, not looking at Sango. "She was... is... Kikyo's sister. Maybe she can even help us figure out a solution."

"I'm beginning to wonder if there really is a solution to any of this," Sango sighed, closing her eyes.

Inuyasha turned his face to look at her in the firelight as the storm intensified outside. "I wonder that, too."

)(*)(

When they left the next morning, the sun had barely started peeking over the horizon. Sleep had been practically nonexistent, between the thunder and the dark thoughts running through their minds. The situation with Kikyo had them all worried, even if each of them worried for different reasons. The journey to Kaede's village was long, but it was not nearly as long of a journey as it had been when they traveled to Sango's village the last time. The sun was just beginning to set as the familiar sight of the small houses and forest came into view. Outside of her house, Kaede was talking to a woman carrying a baby. When she saw the shape of Kirara in the sky, she handed the woman a small package and bid her farewell as the others approached.

Kirara's paws hit the ground in front of the hut and sent small dust clouds into the air. The rain hadn't come this far, apparently. Kaede regarded them with mild surprise as they climbed off of Kirara's back. "Miroku-sama isn't with you?"

"The bouzu decided to leave," Inuyasha said, snorting. "But we've got other things that we need to talk to you about, baba."

Kaede nodded, her eyes still wide. "What has happened?"

"We saw Kikyo," Sango said. "She had some information for us that we believe you should hear."

Kaede lead the way inside and they began the difficult task of explaining everything that had happened. She remained quiet as they explained everything that had happened over the past few days. Kohaku's death had caused her to shake her head and offer her condolences to Sango. She didn't seem terribly surprised by the news about Miroku, however. They had left out the details about the tension between all of them, but the general feel of the situation was easy enough to convey.

"Mmm," Kaede said as she thought about it. "Houshi-sama was always a bit of a restless spirit. It's better that he went ahead and left. Though, I wouldn't doubt if he came back. He cared a great deal about you, Sango."

Sango's gaze was directed at the floor. She didn't really have a response for that. Sensing her unease, Inuyasha decided to continue with the story. "We decided to go to Sango's village, since that's where the jewel came from originally."

"What did you find, Inuyasha?" Kaede asked.

"We entered the cave, and at the end of the cavern we found Kikyo standing there," Inuyasha said. "She told us that what Naraku is really after now is herself."

Kaede nodded. "We've known that Naraku has desired my sister for some time now, Inuyasha."

"Yes, but I never thought the bastard would go to such lengths."

Inuyasha explained what Kikyo had said about the jewel. How Naraku intended to wish for her and that her resolve to never allow him to complete that wish was the only thing that prevented its realization. The more that Inuyasha told her, the more serious she grew.

As time pressed on, Shippou fell asleep and was moved over to a corner so that he could rest. Even Kirara seemed drowsy. While Kaede had remained silent through out the earlier part of the explanations, she now seemed very interested in every detail. Every few minutes, she would ask a question and then ponder the answer. When he had finished the story, Inuyasha fell silent and, like Sango, stared blankly at the floor. He felt mentally exhausted by it all. So much had happened in such a short time.

"Inuyasha, I am very disturbed by what you have told me," Kaede said. "I agree that it is likely that Naraku needs the false jewel to be able to complete the wish to have my sister, though I do not think it would help if my sister was earnest in her desire to make the wish impossible. How many shards of the false jewel are still missing?"

"Only one or two, if that," Inuyasha's voice was bitter as he responded. "He may have the complete jewel by now. Kohaku took the shards that we had, and we were only missing a few. If Naraku had any then the jewel may be complete."

Kaede sighed and slowly got to her feet. Her movements betrayed her age. "I only hope that, in the end, my sister will be able to find peace and pass into the afterlife. Inuyasha, Kikyo-oneesama is dead. She has been for fifty years."

Inuyasha's eyes stayed firmly affixed to the ground as he responded. "I know that."

"Do you? Perhaps you should focus on those around you who care for you now." With that, she turned and left them alone for the night.

)(*)(

Kaede's words were kind but the meaning behind them had a harsh edge of reality to it. Inuyasha had found himself caught up in his dead love more than once. Sango's eyes drifted over to the hanyou. His face was bowed almost to his chest, but his eyes were filled with emotion. Even in her village, when they were in the cave with Kikyo, she had seen the power that the miko seemed to have over him. It wasn't as if he was returning to someone he loved. It was as if he was under a spell, moving against his will.

But was it really against his will?

In the darkness of falling night, Sango began to dig out supplies to redo the bandages on her arm. The muscles were feeling a little better and she was now able to move her arm normally, but the cut still burned. It hadn't healed. While she had managed to change the bandages earlier, she was at a loss for how she had managed t. The hole in her old yukata might have helped. Now, she had to fight with an entire sleeve that she had slid down her shoulder to make room to work. Unable to use her right arm, Sango struggled at removing the old bandages with a single hand. She almost jumped with a much larger, clawed hand covered her own.

"You're hopeless," Inuyasha said as he sat down in front of her. "Let me take care of that."

Her first reaction was to tell him that she was perfectly capable of taking care of her own wounds. She could feel her entire body tensing up as Inuyasha's fingers ran over her shoulder, the rough texture of his hands completely at odds with the sound of his voice. The light feel of his fingertips and claws grazing over the surface of her skin made her temperature rise a couple of degrees. Inuyasha looked at her face, waiting for a moment. When he didn't move, Sango asked, "What?"

"Could you slide your sleeve down a bit further?"

"Ah," she blushed. "Yes, of course."

She shrugged the material so that it fell down lower, giving him more room to work. Almost immediately, he had cut the dirty bandages off of her arm and had begun to clean the cut. Trying not to focus on either the sensations from the cut or the close proximity she now held to Inuyasha, Sango stared pointedly at the floor. Even without her wanting them to, however, her eyes slid towards Inuyasha. There was a look of concentration on his face, as if he was trying very hard.

What did he really think about Kikyo? Did he still love her? Sango had hoped, for some time, that perhaps he had moved past his emotions for the undead miko. Not for her own sake, but for his own sanity. Every time that the miko came around it was as if half of Inuyasha vanished fifty years into the past. Sango ran her tongue across her lips for a moment, trying to moisten them, before asking, "Do you want to save her?"

The slight tightening of Inuyasha's fingers on her arm was the only indication that he had heard the question. For a long moment, he continued to tend to the wound, applying an herbal salve to soothe the inflammation. When he did answer, his voice was surprisingly calm. "I don't know. I don't even know if she can be saved."

In the silence, she could feel him beginning to wrap the clean cloth of fresh bandages carefully around her upper arm. Her voice was sot as she asked, "What was she like? Before, I mean."

Inuyasha's eyes softened and a smile touched his lips. As he finished tying the bandages off, he answered, "She was persistent, to a fault."

Even hearing those few words about his dead lover come out of Inuyasha's mouth made emotions stir inside Sango. She was truly interested in Kikyo. The miko had met a worse fate than she had deserved, Sango was well aware of that. Even so, it was hard to imagine that someone who had been so remarkable in life could do some of the things that Kikyo had done since her rebirth. The woman who had tried to pull Inuyasha to Hell with her, who used the souls of the dead to stay alive, could not possibly be the woman that Inuyasha had fallen in love with. Still, Kikyo was as much a part of Inuyasha as his youkai and human blood was. By learning more about her, Sango felt as if she were learning more about the hanyou that now sat only a few inches away from her.

Inuyasha had finished tying the bandages. He pulled the cloth of her sleeve up so that it covered her shoulder. Sango's eyes watched his hands as they lingered for a moment on her arm before he pulled them away. Unable to stop herself, she asked, "Do you still love her?"

The hanyou felt a slight jolt when he heard the question. He pulled his hand away from her sleeve. His fingers drifted down the soft material of her yukata before coming to rest on his leg, tightly fisted. Unable to find anywhere to look, he glanced at his hand and then turned his head so that his eyes met Sango's. Behind the lovely, warm glow of her eyes there was also a question burning in them. He couldn't deny her the truth. Looking away, he said, "No. For a while, I thought I did, but then I..."

His voice drifted off into silence. Sango watched him quietly. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, hearing him say that had given her a small spark of hope. She smiled softly at him. Almost without thinking, she lifted one of her hands to reach up and touch one of his soft, white ears. Unconsciously, Inuyasha leaned his head into her touch. He turned slowly to face her completely. Quietly, he whispered her name. Biting her lip, Sango asked, "Why did you kiss me?"

"Keh," Inuyasha snorted, though he didn't pull away from her hand. After a second, he asked, "Does it bother you that much?"

"No, I just... wanted to know. Inuyasha..." Even though his snort had suggested that he didn't care, Sango didn't miss the color now staining his cheeks as he avoided her gaze. She had always been able to see through the mask of uncaring that he wore. She tilted her head to look at him curiously. "Why?"

Inuyasha looked at her, his golden gaze burning into her own. The expression in them was completely unreadable, but they were unmistakably warm. He leaned forward ever so slightly and breathed, "I wanted to."

His face was tantalizingly close to hers, only a couple of inches away. The feeling of his breath against her skin was enough to send chills down her spine. Sango bit her lip, suddenly becoming aware that her hand was still buried in Inuyasha's hair, her fingertips wrapped around his ear. He was just so _close_, and warm and...

Sango leaned forward, pressing her lips against his. Inuyasha froze, and then he tilted his head to push himself closer to Sango. She whispered his name against his mouth and Inuyasha took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Leaning forward, he wrapped his arm around her back, trying to pull her even closer as he felt her tongue brush against his. Sango didn't even notice the slight twinge as she reached her injured arm up so that she could bury that hand in his hair. The heat around them seemed so thick that it was making her head spin.

The loud crack of the wooden door sliding open made both of them jump. Panting as he pulled away, Inuyasha looked towards the door to see who could have come inside so late in the evening.

Silhouetted against the last vestiges of daylight, Kagome's form was easily visible in the doorway. She dropped the large yellow backpack from her back to the ground. The expression on her face was completely unreadable as she regarded the pair in front of her. "I'm back."

**)(*)(  
**_Author's Note:_ Sorry for the long wait! I know this has been a long time coming. Another chapter will be coming very soon. I have a request for all you readers out there - I've got a list of fanfics that I'll be doing in the future on my profile. Have a look, and let me know which one you'd like to see most and why!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

An eternity seemed to pass as Kagome stood in the doorway and stared at the spectacle in front of her. Under her gaze, Sango felt completely shocked at her sudden intrusion. She didn't know whether to  
stay as she was or move. She and Inuyasha were so thoroughly entangled that no amount of dim lighting could hide them. Sango watched as Kagome opened her mouth as if to say something, but instead turned and  
walked over to the far wall. The girl set her back pack down and began pulling her sleeping bag and other necessities out of its canvas depths. When she had finished setting up her bed for the night, Kagome  
turned and gave one last, long look at both Inuyasha and Sango before turning back to lay down and face the wall.

As Kagome settled down, Sango let out the breath that she hadn't even realized that she had been holding. At her side, Inuyasha had become very still. Slowly, she could feel him pulling his arms away  
from her as he moved away. Reluctantly, she pulled her own hands back and quickly righted her clothing, which had become very disheveled. She could still feel her heart beating a mile a minute in her chest.  
Half an hour ago, she would have said it was because of what she was doing with Inuyasha. Now, however, it was from the shock they had just received. Unable to stop herself, she looked over at the hanyou. His  
eyes were focused on the floor in front of him as he went about cleaning up the supplies that he had used to tend to her wounds. No matter what her feelings about Kagome's return, or being caught in a situation  
like that with Inuyasha, she felt his feelings were much more important. The look on his face told her everything that she needed to know. Kagome's return made things much more complicated.

Had she simply imagined what had happened between them, that Inuyasha wanted her? She didn't think so, but she knew it also didn't matter. Even as she helped Inuyasha clean up the last of their things, she wondered what he was thinking. He stood up and repositioned himself against a wall. She could feel his eyes on her, and she looked up to meet his gaze. Whatever it was that he was thinking, she couldn't divine it by looking into his eyes. There was a lot that she didn't know, but one thing was certain. Inuyasha may have told her that he didn't love Kikyo, but Sango now knew why he hadn't included Kagome in that statement.

)(*)(

The next morning, Sango was the last to wake up. The memories of the night before were still clear in her mind, and they had kept her awake far later than she would have cared to admit. She had never felt as uncertain about facing any group of people as she did the people now outside the house. The sounds coming from outside, however, were friendly and the smell of food wafted easily in the doorway. No matter how much she disliked the thought of having to deal with the inevitable, she knew she would have to sooner or later. Taking a few minutes, she straightened her hair and clothes to make herself look presentable, and made her way to the door.

Sango could feel all eyes on her as she stepped out into the crisp air and sunshine. A short distance away, Kagome and Kaede were sitting around a small cooking fire, eating breakfast and chatting. Shippou had been playing with Kirara nearby. At Sango's entrance, the tiny cat came over and leaned against her master's legs, mewling quietly. Sango bent down and petted Kirara before standing up and bracing herself to join the group. She forced herself to smile as she walked over to where the others were and sat down. Looking around at the others, she gracefully accepted a plate that was offered to her by Kaede. Inuyasha was nowhere in sight.

Aside from the occasional sounds of someone taking a bite of food, the group sat in silence for several minutes before Kagome decided to say something. "Good morning, Sango-chan."

The tone in Kagome's voice was hesitant, but her smile was genuine. Sango let out a small sigh of relief as she smiled back. "Good morning, Kagome-chan. How did you enjoy your time in your world?"

"It was... dull," came the response. Though she was very polite, it was gratingly obvious that Kagome was just as uncomfortable as she was. Sango took some comfort in the fact that at least she wasn't alone in her discomfort. Whatever Kagome's feelings about last night, the taijiya was rather relieved to see that the girl didn't seem to intend dragging it into the conversation they were currently having. Instead, Kagome took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. Once she had swallowed, she asked, "Where is Miroku-sama?"

Sango looked at her, startled by the question. She hadn't even thought about Miroku in days. "Houshi-sama...," she thought about how to word her response, "... decided not to travel with us any longer."

"I... see," Kagome's response made it clear that she actually didn't understand at all. Her mouth opened to ask another question, but her query was cut short by Shippou jumping into the air and shouting Inuyasha's name.

"Inuyasha?" Sango looked up. Easily visible against the trees, Inuyasha was making his way swiftly towards the group. Whatever friendly demeanor Kagome had managed to summon up for her conversation with Sango, all traces of it were gone now. The girl was glaring icily at the hanyou as he came up to stand awkwardly beside Kaede. Sango doubted she'd ever seen anyone that had looked like they wished they could be anywhere else but there as much as Inuyasha did at that moment. Rather than looking at any one person in particular, he stared carefully at a nearby rock as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

Seeing that Kagome was practically bristling, Kaede decided that an intervention was needed. Clearing her throat, she spoke up. "Ah, Inuyasha, perhaps you should tell Kagome-sama the information you relayed to me yesterday."

"Yesterday?" At the mention of the previous day, it was fairly obvious that his first thought wasn't of the in depth conversation they had shared with the old woman. Inuyasha looked confused.

"Yes, about my sister and the cave," Kaede said, sounding slightly strained.

At the mention of Kikyo, Kagome's attention was pulled away from the other problems she had at hand. Leaning forward, she asked, "Did something happen?"

"A lot has happened since you left, Kagome-sama," Kaede said as Inuyasha sat down on the ground.

"Keh, I'll tell her, baba," Inuyasha snorted. "Right after you left, we found out that Kouga was dead."

After an initial gasp of shock, Kagome listened intently as Inuyasha filled her in on everything that had happened since her departure. What details he missed were provided by Sango, and Shippou often pointed out things that they had both forgotten. When Inuyasha glossed over certain events, such as why Miroku had left or the details of Kohaku's death, no one bothered to correct him. When they had finished with a retelling, a silence fell over the group as they all thought about the events that had lead them to this point. After a few minutes, Kagome asked a question. "Why does Naraku need both the fake jewel and the real jewel?"

"Kikyo seemed to believe it was important to destroy both of them, not just one. I think we can assume that Naraku has a reason for keeping both of them," Sango said. "Shippou said something the other day that might explain it."

Shippou nodded, and Inuyasha continued Sango's explanation. "Kikyo... created the false jewel. It was part of her, originally. While the real jewel can grant Naraku's wish, the bastard may need some part of Kikyo to actually get her, even with the power of the original jewel. Probably even more so since Kikyo would never want..." His voice trailed off.

"Is it even possible to kill Naraku any more, if he has both of the jewels?" Kagome's entire expression was colored with confusion and worry. "And for that matter, he's been attacking us for so long, why doesn't he just wish one or all of us dead?"

"I don't know," Inuyasha shook his head, "but if Naraku does intend to kill us, I'd rather die fighting."

"That's all fine and well, Inuyasha, but we have another problem," Sango said, rubbing her forehead and setting aside her empty plate. "We have no idea where Naraku is, or how to find him. There are no more shards left to chase after, and he has no reason to reveal himself."

"You have all been through a lot over the past few weeks. Just take a few days to rest and recover your strength. There is a solution, and we can all figure it out when you've had some food and time to recover," Kaede told them. Looking around at everyone around her, she sighed. "I have to go visit one of the women in the village. Would you like to keep me company, Shippou?"

It only took Shippou a moment to stand up and agree, and the two of them slowly made their way down the dirt road towards the houses that made up the bulk of the small village. Left alone, Inuyasha, Sango and Kagome fell into an uncomfortable silence. When the dishes were stacked and the fire extinguished, the atmosphere became unbearable for Sango. Standing, she collected the pile of dishes and excused herself from the group.

)(*)(

Walking as briskly as she dared, Sango headed back into the house. Finally away from the others, she let herself relax a little. Placing the dishes as the back of the house, she made a mental note to take care of them later. Then, she sat down and began polishing Hiraikotsu. It had been a long while since she had been able to take care of the massive weapon the way she liked. The proper upkeep and cleaning of it was a routine that she missed being able to take care of as often as she used to. The familiarity of it was enough to soothe her frayed nerves and take her mind off of some of the things that were bothering her.

Even that distraction, however, couldn't completely pull her away from her surroundings. Outside she heard Kagome announce that she would be going for a walk. Moments later, Inuyasha came into the house. Rather than sitting down on the floor, he leaned up against the wall, focusing his gaze on the ceiling.

"You should go talk to her," Sango said, barely looking up from Hiraikotsu. She hadn't expected to feel such a tangle of emotions the moment the hanyou walked into the room. No matter how shocked she felt at Kagome's return, she had always known that he had loved someone else. A couple of someones. She couldn't think of any reason why the thought of him going to talk to Kagome should make her feel as ill as it did. Then again, she wasn't even entirely certain what she felt about Inuyasha, and she doubted that the hanyou was any more certain than she was. Jealousy, and something akin to fear, were things she didn't feel often. She wasn't comfortable feeling them now.

"I don't want to." Inuyasha sighed, sounding aggitated. "Fuck. Why the hell did she have to come back _now_?"

Surprised by his words, Sango asked, "Did you want her to come back?"

"I don't know."

Sango's eyes were fixed on the weapon in front of her, though her hands and long since stopped moving to polish it further. She said simply, "You love her."

It wasn't a question. "Yes."

Sango set Hiraikotsu to the side, no longer confident in the steadiness of her hands. She could feel her heart breaking, piece by piece. She had always known, but somehow hearing him say it made it worse. It took every once of strength that she had just to keep from crying in front of him. That was the last thing she wanted. "You should go to her, Inuyasha."

For an instant, she thought that he was going to stay. After a moment, however, she heard the sound of bare feet on the floor. The sound of footsteps faded into the distance after a moment. As soon as she was certain that he was gone, Sango buried her face in her arms and cried.

)(*)(

When Inuyasha found Kagome, she was standing in front of the tree where they had first met. Her hand was resting gently on the bark of the tree, almost as if she could reach him just by touching it. Her face looked surprisingly peaceful as she stood there, any traces of her earlier anger were gone. As she heard him approach, she called his name.

"Kagome," Inuyasha reponded. Even though he had come to talk with her, he kept himself at a distance. The memory of her arrival the previous night made him feel on edge and uncomfortable with the entire situation. He hadn't even had time to digest what had happened the night before, let alone what her return meant. He knew that the confrontation between them was unavoidable, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with.

Slowly, Kagome turned around where she stood and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself as close to his body as she could. Then, leaning up on her toes, she pressed her lips against his. Against her, Inuyasha was unresponsive. The hanyou's only response was to place his hands on her arms and pull them away from his body. He took a step away from her.

Kagome stared at him for a moment before biting her lip. Her voice was bitter as she asked, "So... are you with her now, Inuyasha?" There was no need for her to clarify which 'her' she was referring to.

"I don't know."

"We can still... fix this, Inuyasha," Kagome's voice was shaky. Every moment that she had thought about him with Kikyo, every time that she had watched him turn around and leave them for the undead miko, it had hurt her. She had never imagined that Inuyasha would try something like that with her friend. But, maybe, it was a fluke. Even if it wasn't, she had dealt with him straying before. She could deal with it again. Slowly, she reached out to take his hand. "We can fi-"

"Kagome, we can't be like that any more." Inuyasha's voice was quiet, but it had a tone that said that he had finished talking about it. He pulled his hand out of hers, and took another step away from her.

"Why?" Kagome's voice was surprisingly quiet. Inuyasha could tell that she was about to start crying. He had heard the same tone a dozen times before. The only difference this time was the fact that he would walk away. Her eyes watched his face, they begged him to look at her. Instead, he purposefully looked away.

"Because I want _her_." It was cruel, and it was harsh, and he knew it. It was also the only way to get through to her. His decision had been made the night Kohaku died, as he had held Sango in his arms. Even though he still wasn't sure exactly what it was he wanted, he knew that it wasn't Kagome that he wanted by his side. He loved Kagome, it was true, but she would never be to him what Sango had become, and it would have been worse to let Kagome think otherwise. He had already made up his mind.

He looked at Kagome's face, and what he saw did not surprise him in the least. The expression on her face was terrifying. Inuyasha didn't have a doubt left in his mind that she would Sit him so hard that he wouldn't be able to walk for a month. He braced himself for what he knew was coming. Instead, Kagome raised her hand and slapped him. Inuyasha felt his jaw fall slack at shock. He would never have expected her to do something like that.

"You idiot." Kagome turned and began walking back towards the village, sobbing quietly. Still shocked, Inuyasha also turned to leave. They both stopped dead in their tracks as a massive crashing sound echoed through the forest. Flocks of birds flew out of the trees. Suddenly, the entire area was covered in two scents that sent a chill down Inuyasha's spine. Naraku and Kikyo were both here. And Kagome had no way to defend herself.

)(*)(

Kikyo stumbled through the trees, barely visible from where Inuyasha stood. Even from this distance, he could tell that she was injured. Even so, the miko's eyes were clearly fixed on a writhing mass that was visible even above the tree tops. Naraku. She notched another arrow and let it fly at the monstrous form that was chasing her.

Inuyasha knew there was little time to act. He looked over at Kagome, who stood stock still as she observed the scene in front of her, uncertain what to do. He didn't have time to deal with Naraku and Kikyo as well as Kagome. His voice was practically a growl as he shouted at her. Kagome would have the sense to get Sango. "RUN!"

Not bothering to look back and check on her progress, he turned and ran as fast as he could towards Kikyo. Inches in front of him, he watched in horror as a massive tentacle snaked its way out of the writhing branches and shot through Kikyo's chest. Just as quickly, it retreated. Kikyo fell into Inuyasha's arms, her entire body shaking. Inuyasha stared down at the dying miko, and then cursed. "Kikyo! Goddammit! I will kill him once and for-"

Kikyo's hand on his sleeve was enough to get him to stop talking. Her body had stopped shaking, but she stared up at Inuyasha with a determination he hadn't seen since before she had died. "You must go, Inuyasha. He will take her."

As soon as the words were spoken, Kikyo's body began to crumble. At first, it was only bits and pieces, as her fingertips turned to dust. In a matter of minutes, larger pieces began to fall off of her. Inuyasha whispered her name and could do nothing but watch in shock as his former lover slowly disintegrated. Out of her body, small points of light began to fly into the air, floating off into the forest. He was confused for a moment, and then he heard Kagome scream.

It sounded like Kagome was being pulled apart piece by piece. With one last look at what was left of Kikyo, Inuyasha ran towards the sound of Kagome's voice. On the path towards the village, Kagome was doubled over on the ground, and the sound that came out of her as she wailed sounded more like an animal than a person. As Inuyasha watched, another point of light and then one after that floated into her body. As they did, the screaming became even louder. That's when Inuyasha realized what was happening. The points of light that were coming out of Kikyo's body, those were her souls. Now that she was dead, they were returning to her other self. Kagome. Her entire body was wracked with spasms. Inuyasha tried to reach her, but some force around Kagome pushed him further away than he had been before. She couldn't even hear him calling her name. Then, the last ball of light entered Kagome's body. The sound of her screams had ended abruptly. Kagome had vanished.

**)(*)(**

_Author's Note: _Happy holidays, everyone! Yes, yes. I know. It's been a -very- long time! However, hopefully you won't have to wait long for the next chapter. There's a BIG surprise coming up, and I think you'll enjoy it! I'm... also pretty sure this chapter is riddled with typos. I'll fix them later in the day. It's currently 5:44 in the morning, and I've been up literally all night working on this.


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